Have you ever heard of ‘the Kigali proposal’? No…strange; you’ve probably seen it in action without even knowing that that is the Kigali proposal. ’Tis the season of weddings right now and the Kigali proposal is rampart. Don’t worry, I haven’t had the opportunity of having the Kigali proposal thrust at me and thank goodness for that. Just a few months back I was, to my utter shock and awe, invited to the matrimonial rites (read ‘wedding’) of a friend of mine. Why was I shocked? Because this pal of mine wasn’t exactly the marrying type. He was young, not an obvious home-maker and he liked his ladies, if you know what I mean. Yes, he had a girlfriend but I’m sure he wasn’t thinking of getting married to her anytime soon. So, when I heard that he was getting hitched the first thing that came to my mind was “THE PROSOSAL STRIKES AGAIN”! I’ll be the first to admit that we Rwandan men aren’t exactly the most romantic males in the world. We don’t do flowers and chocolates or any of that mushy stuff. Certainly, we’ll be damned if we get on our knees, whip an engagement ring under the girls nose, look her deep in the eye and say “will you marry me”! You can’t really blame us. It’s as if we are still living in the good old days when someone else (usually our parents) got us our better halves. Even when we don’t live in the past, it’s a fact that men hate the very idea of staying exclusively with a single female for the rest of their lives. Women, on the other hand, are, as I often say, born ready to walk down the aisle. But the ladies here aren’t stupid; they know that their men won’t mention marriage unless something drastic happens. So, what do they do? They bide their time until one day, she walks up to you and, with a curious expression on her face, declares that she “has something that belongs to you”. What is it? A bun in the oven i.e. she’s pregnant! Well…since you know that she probably isn’t lying and our getting on in years the only question that you pose is, “when should we get introduced”? Think that the Kigali proposal isn’t widespread? Then tell me, how many healthy babies have you seen born just five months after the wedding? Contact: madogz2002@yahoo.ca
