Feature: Why the Soap Opera craze among women?

Finding a woman who does not like soaps is rare. Many women have a rather strange addiction for soaps. This cuts across women from all walks of life including, the corporate woman, students and the woman deep in Mutara village. They mostly have one thing in common—an obsession for soaps operas. It is almost impossible to find a woman watching a documentary film, talk show or a detective movie; most cling onto soap operas like a leech does on skin. Sometimes women relate to the true life situations in soap operas that depict a life close to theirs. For others, soaps always create a fantasy life that each woman dreams of experiencing. Most soaps have similar themes that range from family issues, undying love of a particular couple, revenge and romance among others. Leonah, a second year student at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), Kimironko, says she loves soaps and so do most of her girlfriends. “I am particularly crazy about Mexican and Latin soaps which just create a whole new world for me,” she says. Michael Bugingo, 27 years, is a resident of Kanombe who says that soaps are for less intellectual people and that is why one can hardly find a man watching one. “Women are the ones who watch those soaps. That is why it is hard to find a woman who can engage in a constructive discussion because they waste a lot of time watching soaps instead of serious programs or reading constructive books,”Bugingo says. “Soaps may not exactly be bad but the way women get engrossed in them isn’t cool at all. At least they should do some reading and watch other constructive programs on television,” Bugingo emphasizes. Rosette Kayitesi, a 24 year-old resident of Kacyiru does not buy Bugingo’s point of view. She enjoys watching Mexican soaps and Desperate Housewives. She says watching soaps has nothing to do with one’s intelligence capacity. “It’s true women love soaps and there are always many lessons to be learnt from them just like other television programmes. At least we learn from the soaps but who can explain the lesson learnt from men’s obsession of watching 22 old mature men running after a small rubber ball,” Kayitesi argues. She says that just like men are football crazy, so are women with soaps. “Not everything we watch in life is supposed to be directly educative, life would then be boring. We need to be entertained as well and watch something that makes us have fun just like men do with soccer,” Kayitesi explains. Well, if women enjoy watching soaps, then let them watch. However, it is equally important to know what else is happening in the real world and be knowledgeable about current issues besides fictional soaps. For the men whose lives are gripped around football, the same holds true! m.kaitesi@yahoo.com