Women have a mandate to look good

Even after she has got the ring on her finger, a woman should never give up on looking good. It is in fact the best way to get your man to be what you want him to be; by endeavouring to always look as good as when he met you, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza 

 "God, I love women! The look of a woman, the shape of a woman, the smile of a woman, the voice of a woman, the tenderness of a woman, the motherliness of a woman…God I love women.” That was my Facebook update on Women’s Day, and I meant every word of it. There have been fascinating inventions from the light bulb to the computer to the aeroplane but nothing beats the woman.

Beautiful ladies like these should work harder and stay in shape for their men and for the sake of their relationships 

Men are known for their toughness but when a woman you love looks you in the eyes and dishes out that killer smile, you can do anything in the world for her! And no, I’m not a hopeless romantic. I’m just a realist telling you men love women! Most of my friends are women. And on Women’s Day, I spent the day telling them what fascinating creatures they are. And when I discovered the celebration of womankind would go on all month through, my mind went into overdrive; coming up with adjectives that best capture the loveliness of women.

It was invigorating to discover I was not alone. Ugandan husbands that day brought their women breakfast in bed, others stayed home and offered them fabulous company, I tell you. One woman, who had no hope of getting spoilt because her husband is in the U.S. studying, called me in a voice tinged with joy. Her husband had actually called to say happy Women’s Day and whisper on the phone his love for her.

It was quite a rosy day for me until I called up a woman I will just call Flower. Is it that after a woman has nailed a man with a ring on her finger, she ceases to care? That’s the feeling I got from Flower and it shook me. I attended the same primary and secondary schools with Flower, and can assure you Shakespeare’s Juliet and Elechi Amadi’s Ihuoma pale in comparison with her beauty. After S.4, Flower joined a nursing college and married a doctor two years later.

Even in marriage, she continued to glow and grow in her beauty. But when I saw Flower in December after many years, her curves were gone and the once spotless face has since transmogrified beyond belief! And then she has grown so fat that she can hardly walk through the door. And I donot mean this in a disrespectful way but you have to pity the man who marries a woman that ceases to take care of herself.

Anyhow, when I called Flower on Women’s Day and asked where she was going to spend a romantic evening with her husband, she responded: “Those things are for campus girls. For us we are old and making money to put our children through school.” That night I lay on my bed and thought of the pert girl I love, and dreaded the very prospect of her ever having Flower’s attitude. What if we get married and she starts hogging herself with food and loses her mystery?

What if she stops being the lady she is and starts competing with the housemaid to see who is well-versed about Mexican soap operas? After watching Flower and talking to her, I think I understand why some men would rather have the ground swallow them than be seen in public with their wives. And as much as it’s painful to accept, this is why some men cheat on their women.

As women celebrate their month, it’s my appeal they do all it takes to retain their electrifying power. We men like flaunting you. And if you are not in that shape and look as to be flaunted, then, you’ve lost us. It is the point of this article, really. That it’s the woman’s mandate to work hard and look good. Be your man’s muse, and he will become the best man you want him to be.

--Saturday Monitor, March 17, 2010