Cathy Uwera Phillips, 25 years left with a lot of disappointment after visiting Kigali for the very first time in ten years. While she went club hopping from Planet to Republica (some of the city’s night spots) she was amazed by the fact that men stare and make unbelievable comments about a girl who gallops one beer after the other. “Why are all these men staring at me, is there anything wrong with taking this drink?” she wondered. “Ako nagasinzi kabisa” an onlooker who only identified himself as Manzi said. The statement meant that “surely, that is a pure drunkard.” Despite the fact that music is playing and everyone seems to enjoy the company of whoever they are with, most men still stick out their necks to notice and talk about such simple issues. Alice Munezero, a student at one of the universities in Rwanda explains that she stopped drinking beers after realising that other people attached particular issues to the drink. “My husband who was then just a boyfriend discouraged me from taking beers three years ago, saying that I embarrass him so I switched to wines,” she said. The truth is that most wines actually have a higher alcoholic content but a good number of men insist that a Rwandan girl looks trendier or “styled up” when she holds a wine glass at the bar counter rather than a beer bottle. Researchers have found that a pint of beer may help protect against heart disease more effectively than red wine or spirits simply because beer contains vitamin B6 which also lowers the build up of the homocysteine, an amino acid that causes heart disease. The Lancet, also famously known as the world’s leading general medical journal suggests that taking a pint of beer may also be a good idea despite the fact that scientists have occasionally talked about the benefits of taking red wine. Whether or not, Rwandan girls should be seen taking beer or wine, the benefits come as a secondary factor. The main issue here is that everyone should be free to live in this world. As a matter of fact, it is up to each individual to ensure that they have a great time whenever they feel like it. keishaed@yahoo.com
