Are you a ‘Cougar and proud’? (Age is just a number)

I DON’T know why women are judged when they do something that men have been doing since time immemorial.  Why is it okay for a man to marry a woman 10-20 years younger than him yet it remains strange for a woman to do the same?

Friday, April 26, 2013
Doreen Umutesi

I DON’T know why women are judged when they do something that men have been doing since time immemorial.  Why is it okay for a man to marry a woman 10-20 years younger than him yet it remains strange for a woman to do the same?When a woman dates or marries a younger man, if she is not called a sugar mummy she will be termed a cougar and her partner will be considered a ‘boy toy’, which is very demeaning.What happened to the phrase ‘age is just a number’ when it comes to love or matters of the heart? In fact, based on the love philosophers, we never choose who we fall in love with, we just fall in love!  I thought when a Rwandan man reaches the age of 21, he pretty much has the right to date or get married to anyone of his choice. For starters, if its okay for a 50-year-old man to date or marry a 30-year-old woman I don’t see why the opposite is an issue. I have a feeling that a lot of people tend to confuse a woman legally marrying young man with a woman dating a juvenile. They are two different things because dating a juvenile is considered defilement and is punishable by law. I have seen young men who prefer dating or marrying older women because they want to have a mature relationship instead of wasting time dealing with the drama that comes with women their age. Currently a lot of men, whether young or old, prefer to date or marry independent women; older women are always independent. There are several things that young men like about old women hence the decision to date or get married to them.  Younger men prefer dating old women because they are confident, have more money, and are more experienced sexually.  According to an article published in askmen.com ‘Top 10: Things We Love About Older Women’, while younger women often don’t take men, relationships or life in general very seriously, an older woman understands the value of a good man. She’s seen what’s out there, she knows what’s at stake and she’s not likely to take you for granted.Therefore, society should stop stereotyping older women who date or get married to younger men because they have every right to choose their lifetime partner as long as it makes them happy.