WILL MARRY SOMEONE FROM DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASS

Since I’d been going to see Biola at home, I’d never met her father. He was always abroad for holidays or on business trips. I wondered when he’d time to attend the senate. Senator Harrison didn’t share Biola’s rapture for me. I’d made a bad impression during my first encounter with him. As I walked through the gate one Saturday, on early visit, I saw a tall, fair-complexioned man with rosy cheeks and protruding stomach. His youthful face belied his sixty-five years. He was graying at the temples. He was coming from the swimming pool, where he’d gone for a swim. He wore white drawers and had a small towel round his neck, his chest covered with a mass of hair as thick as the African jungle. I greeted him when I got to him. “Yes gentleman? Are you looking for somebody?” he asked, with his rich baritone voice. I could sniff power and affluence around him. “Yes, sir. I’m a friend of Biola,” I said with elaborate politeness. “Who are you?” “I’m Okafor. Chika Okafor,” I stated audaciously. “Which Okafor? The Minister?” “No, sir.” “Are you a member of the distinguished Okafor family of Onitsha?” “No, sir.” “Which Okafor is your father then? And where does he work?” he asked sharply. “He’s a laborer in one of the ministries,” I replied, feeling highly embarrassed. “Laborer? You mean you’re a son of a laborer? Where do you live?” I swallowed, shifting my weight from foot to foot as I faced his searching gaze. "Ajegunle,” I said, avoiding his quizzical look. “My God, that slum!” he said in a surly snarl. The rich didn’t have any respect for people raised in squalor. Luckily, I saw Biola running towards us. I needed her help. "Popsy, he’s my guest. I hope you’re not embarrassing him.” He was staring at me with an intensity that totally unnerved me, as if I were some monster animal from the zoo. “Biola, dear, why did you invite this hooligan from Ajegunle to this house? I won’t like to see him around this house again.” He shot me another unsettling look. “Daddy, he is not a hooligan. He’s a graduate of Industrial Chemistry.” “And therefore? I want you to associate with children of decent people. The truth is that if you raise a child in a decent environment, he’ll ultimately comport himself decently. Imagine you befriending the son of a laborer? Incredible! You should mix with children of commissioners, senators, ministers, governors and the like. Not children of laborers, messengers, cleaners, what have you?” Senator Harrison was angling for a bigger catch for his daughter. “Daddy, this is not a way to talk.” Tears of hopelessness and rage filled her eyes. “You’re being too class-conscious. I’m already an adult. I’ve the right to choose my friends. Money is just not everything.” Her lips curved into a determined pout. “But the lack of it could make life exceedingly difficult for you,” he reminded her sternly. “Darling girl, this type of boy is not good for you. His university education notwithstanding, he’ll still be crude due to the environment where he was brought up.” “Daddy, don’t be a bigot,” she said defiantly. “And if I get hurt – well, I’m the one who’ll have to bear that hurt.” “Are you thinking a man doesn’t hurt when his child is hurt?” Throughout the hot debate between father and daughter I kept quiet. I knew I had Biola on my side, but I watched the whole encounter with a sinking heart. Although Senator Harrison’s English, French and German were excellent; he preferred to speak Yoruba to Biola. Senator Harrison had his own ideas about what was best for Biola. And from what I’d seen, anyone from a poor background was not eligible. How could I’ve been such a naive fool as to believe I could have a serious affair with Biola. Our lives were worlds apart. But I’d never given up easily before. Senator Harrison’s insult made me make a resolution. I decided I must get rich at all cost. I was determined to prove to Senator Harrison that wealth wasn’t a peculiar characteristic of one family. “You son-of-a-bitch, listen to me, get the hell out of my compound,” he snarled, “now!” His tone was stern and unyielding. He was very authoritative. Senator Harrison, like a thousand other fathers, had only meant the best for his daughter perhaps and really had nothing personal against me. It was simply the way things were in Nigeria, and anywhere else. Birds of the same feathers flock together. At this point, I found the humiliation unbearable. I’d never undergone such humiliation all my life. I felt tears of anger and frustration clouds my eyes. I turned back crestfallen, and left the compound. “Arrogant, rich bastard,” I snorted as I left. I was provoked so I took a taxi to a hotel in Surulere to drown my anger with beer.

TRY TO MASTER YOUR MOODS BECAUSE ANGER CAN DESTROY MARRIAGE

One of the commonest evidence that a person has not yet developed full maturity of his personality is the tendency to give way to fits of temper. Most husbands become angry whenever they did not get their ways or whenever something happened that wounded their sense of personal pride. Some husbands not only speak most unkindly to their wives but resort to threats and sometimes throw their shoes at the women or whatever other objects that may be handy. Some women are also capable of uncontrollably anger. Some become angry when their husbands forget to fulfill some promises made. The commonest cause of anger is keeping of late night by their husbands because it is believed that they must have been with other women. Moods are hard to define, but everybody experiences them. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines mood as the state of one’s feelings or mind at a particular time. They provide the setting for all conscious mental process. They influence thoughts and reactions. They give color, sometimes brilliant ones and sometimes dull ones to everything that happens. In order to be able to handle your moods, the first rule in a successful marriage is to be sure that you are grown up emotionally. Marriage is for the mature minds, not the infantile. The fusion of two different personalities requires emotional balance and control on the part of each partner. Practically all cases of temper date from early childhood. Habits are formed more quickly when we are young, but if we have already passed the youthful flexible period it is now time to put our temper under control. Some had throughout childhood had indulged in their temper as a mean of coercing their parents into cooperating with them. They had frequently gotten their way by throwing tantrum whenever, their will was crossed. This same tendency followed into their adolescence with very little change. Even during their young adult years they still used their fits of temper as a means of demanding their own way. As they married they found that their reaction to having their will crossed remained the same as when they were children. The only difference was that some spouses were unwilling to give in to their partners’ tantrum as their parents had been. Some wives had certain strength of their own and had not been willing to accede to their husbands, as their parents used to, by giving in allowing them their ways simply because of the threat of a fit of temper.

Even in the same individual moods vary from elation to depression. Some people are elated more than they are depressed; others seem to be depressed most of the time. During the elation period one feels as if he were walking with spring in his steps. During elation you hold your chin up; see the humor in trivial occurrences and see the bright side of the more serious happenings. You have courage, energy, and optimism. You feel fine and act it. When depressed, you walk slowly and look toward the ground. You smile only occasionally, and then with apparent difficulty. You see a tragedy in every problem. You lack perspective, feel discouraged, and sometimes wish you could just die. Nothing seems right. The sun either is too hot or the cold is too penetrating. There is even a tendency to suspect the motives of others. Some people experience sudden changes in mood. Some people’s mood change so often that it is hard to predict when they are cheerful and when they are downcast. When cheerful, such a person is sociable and one feels that I have met a friend. When downcast, he may even ignore old acquaintances, even his wife, who wonders, “What have I done now?” Everyone experiences these fluctuations of mood, even though the extremes may not be very common. Of course, the events of the day have their influence on your mood. The businessman who completes an important job feels like treating his wife to a sumptuous dinner; but he is likely to ignore his wife greeting when he returns home, if he has failed to win a major contract he has been going after for many months. Your physical condition also has a great deal to do with your moods. When you come back from work feeling worn out you tend to feel downcast, whereas you will feel buoyant when you just returned from a vacation. But even though the day’s events and the state of health have a profound influence on your mood, there is still another factor that has its effect. This is the tendency toward cyclic alterations. When emotional is abundant you feel elated and ready to accept challenges. During its ebb you tend to be depressed. By their very nature, moods are hard to analyze. So it is not surprising that most people are not aware of the rhythmical nature of their moods. But the keeping of a simple record will convince you that your moods do come and go in a wavelike manner. Once convinced, a period of depression will seem much less difficult to handle than when it was supposed that moods depend entirely on the day’s happenings only. With this insight a period of depression will be less devastating knowing that a feeling of well-being will soon follow. Moods can be taken in stride. The high price to pay for uncontrolled temper is losing the esteem of your partner, and setting such an example before your children portend the danger that they would lose their respect for you and their own personalities would suffer as the result of the unhappy home environment. It had been observed that a person is most apt to give to temper when life is stormy and all seems against him, that is when he resorts more to anger. On such occasions his store of nervous energy and his ability to exercise self-control is at low ebb. You should therefore adopt the definite policy of delaying the settlement of any difficulty until such time as you are calm. The control of grievances which tend to build up in a person’s mind until he finally becomes very angry, that he imagines all kinds of retaliation. This pent-up antagonism is a potent producer of trouble and should be dissipated before one finds occasion to take his partner to task. One of the best ways of relieving this pent-up emotion is to engage in some profitable and enjoyable physical exercise. Visiting of friends and taking a walk can work wonders and making you more tolerant of those who have provoked you. Every time you succeed in controlling your temper you break the chain that enslaved you.

In order to help create a happy home, wives should treat their husbands kindly and avoid rebuttal whenever they felt ill at ease and tempted to a fit of anger. This is not with the thought of giving in to his whim, but simply in recognition of the principle that when an angry outburst is met with calmness and patience, the flurry of anger soon passes, curbing the tempted one to regain his composure and consider the immediate situation impartially and unemotionally. It is reasonable to suppose that many of the marital tragedies have occurred when the parties concerned were in the troughs of their temperamental cycles. This is the time that life appears most gloomy. This is the time when couples are less tolerant of each other. This is the time when divorce proceedings are initiated. This is the time when, for no provocation at all, a young lady may tell her suitor not to call again. If people would delay their important decisions until their moods shift to their optimistic phases, there would not be so many lovers jilted, and there would not be so many divorces and separations. Moods have an important bearing on the relationships within the home. When a husband is in the depressed phase of his temperamental cycle, he is less tolerant of his wife than when he feels elated. The same thing goes for the wife. It is bad enough when just one of them at a time feels downcast. But when husband and wife get the blues on the same day, things are in danger of becoming pretty stormy. The cultivation of a sense of humor is one of the most effective way of combating this situation. If the habit of seeing the funny side of things is built up during the crests of one’s temperamental waves, it will carry over the troughs of these same waves and help the couple maintain an even keel. The trick of seeing the funny side of things works very well in controlling depressed moods. But to develop the conviction that you are capable of rising above life’s vicissitudes is a way to provide the stimulus for a happier outlook. The only wise course is to decide in favor of buoyancy and optimism. Another way to maintain temperamental poise is to resolve that moods will never interfere with your usual way of life. The natural tendency is to suspend activities when you feel depressed. Happy home have been created by couples that have learned to control themselves. The control of anger is the ability to analyze the causes of your difficulty rather than to react with a fit of anger. Anger is like a parasite that grows with the growth of the supporting body, and, like a parasite, it can be killed by separation and crushing.

HAPPY MARRIAGE

May all who watch your marriage Find commitment May the fire of devotion To each other light their ways May the footprints the you leave Lead them to believe in happy marriage And the lives you live Inspire them to obey "Till death do us part."

COMMUNICATION: KEY TO SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

H. Norman Wright defines communication as, “Communication is a process (either verbal or nonverbal) of sharing information with another person in such a way that he (or she) understands what you are saying. Talking and listening and understanding are all involved in the process of communication.” Everyone was born with one mouth and two ears –the basic tools for communication. Therefore must use them properly for effective communication. When you are married, you must communicate well with your spouse for things to go well. Most of the women have little difficulty talking. Often the problem is not just talking, but talking too much, while most men seem to talk less believing this is manly. You must speak to each other freely about anything. The feeling, “I won’t tell my wife how discouraged I feel today, I am a man. She must not think that I can’t handle my problems,” must be done away with. It is amazing that many couples fail to communicate. They stay in the same house, but rarely discuss ways of making their marriage more fulfilling. A lot of needs, aspirations, and dreams lives within you; to share them with your partner are very important. Couples who develop balanced relationships share their hopes and dreams. You need to be consistent with communicating how you feel. However, Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” We should not speak demeaning words that will hurt your spouse. Honest communication allows people to understand and see your emotions. Your spouse can understand and respond more effectively if they are provided some information about how you want to be treated. It is vital to be able to communicate your feelings to your spouse. Clear and honest communicators make ideal marriage partners. You spend much time wishing for things to be done in a particular way yet you never express your wishes. Good communication includes delivering your intentions to your partner. You want your partner to understand you better, spend time to explain to him what you want. You want your partner to treat you in a certain way, tell him how you want to be treated, so that he’ll know what you want. Sheri and Bob Stritof wrote, “You need more than love for a successful marriage. You also need communication, respect, trust, humor, honesty, and commitment.” At times as you discuss some vital issue, you may disagree and quarrel especially about money. Don’t give up. David and Claudia Arp say, “It takes time to communicate, to work through conflict, and to build a creative love life.” Communication is the key. Communication throughout marriage is important. Each partner should endeavor to acquire the art of expressing clearly and effectively his ideas, so that his partner may comprehend them easily and with as little effort as possible. Communication is a two-way process. We facilitate communication when we learn to become good listeners. Before you can understand your partner’s point of view you need to be a good listener as well as talker.

This is not a reason to stop communicating; you should continue talking until you reach agreement. Do not allow quarrel kill your communication. Instead, discuss all aspects that are important to your mutual happiness and continue until you reach a decision. When you communicate effectively, you open the doors of your hearts, allowing yourselves to see the other’s feelings. The resultant effect is that your joys are more because the happiness of one is now the happiness of the other. And your burdens will be reduced since they are now shared by an understanding partner. Listening is a skill most people haven’t cultivated. Of Wright’s three elements of communication –talking, listening, and understanding; listening is usually the trouble area. Instead of patiently hearing what your spouse have to say, most people can hardly wait until their spouses stop talking before intervening. Failing to listen to your spouse constitute a terrible impediment to communication, which can sink the marriage boat. Though, it is a known fact that human personality is fundamentally selfish and self-centered. The thought of listening to their wives’ views to some husbands is unwelcome. But the ability to get along well with other people require that you, in the process of acquiring maturity, have brought your natural tendency to self-centeredness into such control that you do not infringe on the rights and comfort of others especially your wife or your husband. You can’t know what your spouse’s feelings are without effective communication. To properly listen is to take time to digest the content of the message because when we openly and patiently listen to our spouses, we truly learn from them. In view of the intimacy required in marriage, it is especially important that the couples subdue their tendencies toward thinking only of their personal interests. Practically, all difficulties occurring between husbands and wives can be traced back to the failure on the part of one or the other properly to subdue his personal cravings to the advancement of their mutual desires and interests. Marriage is a matter of give and talk. Couples must make compromise and not insist on having their own ways all the time. The effective control of self-centeredness distinguishes an individual whose personality is mature and well-balanced from another individual who is still infantile and unprepared to meet the demands which life has placed upon him. One great help in the establishment of a down-to earth philosophy which helps a couple to accept each other in a realistic way is the ability to communicate. The ability of the couple to share joke can help in no small measure to build closeness. A sense of humor is as necessary in marriage as is oil to the smooth operation of an engine. But some husbands are arrogant and do not have much sense of humor. Some claim to be very busy. No matter how busy you are tried to communicate with your wife. In course of living together a husband or a wife often expresses his thoughts without censorship. A partner without a sense of humor may easily misconstrue the intent of an innocent remark. Just such a trivial matter as a husband making a jovial remark may be the beginning of a dispute in which damaging words are exchanged. But with a sense of humor the wife gives her husband the benefit of doubt and assumes that the motive of his remark is only friendly, than trying to beat him at his own game. Therefore she dismisses his remark as a bit of innocent fun. An innocent joke will break the tension of almost any misunderstanding between a husband and wife. A little attention given to the technique of being jovial will work advantageously in both directions. If the wife is in the trough of her emotional waves, her husband’s sense of humor can help her to turn the tide. If it is the husband who is feeling his inadequacy, the wife’s calling attention to the funny side may help him to see that life is interesting and worth living even though he has not quite reached the perfection he had envisaged.

You might have spoken clearly and your spouse may have listened intently, but if he doesn’t understand the message, you have not communicated effectively. There are some reasons why your message might not have made the required impact. When you speak there may be difference between what you mean to say and what you actually said. The idea may be clear in your head, but the words you choose to express the idea may be inappropriate or inadequate. Feeling hurt is another barrier to communication. Self-confidence, in itself, is desirable and necessary to achieve success. But when self-confidence is carried too far and drives a person along the course of his own choosing without proper regard for the rights of others, it becomes a definite handicap to family happiness. Such a person leaves destruction in his wake. And the other person may feel hurt. The unfortunate thing is that the egotist’s philosophy becomes distorted to the point that he really believes that his course of action is correct, in spite of his disregard for others, and so he does not make an effort to consider the feelings of those around him. In order to keep peace with himself, as he forces his way through life, the macho man resorts to some very peculiar ways of reasoning. One of these involves an unwillingness to accept the blame for whatever mishaps that may occur. The tendency to project the blame on the partner crops up frequently in married life. If the husband tends to be too self-assertive, it is quite natural for him to blame his wife for delaying him so long at home that he missed an important associate. The wife who is wise will be able to see beyond her husband’s unfair criticisms and to realize that he is just reacting in a normal way; that being somehow egoistical, it would be painful for him to accept the blame for his shortcomings. She does not need to submit meekly to injustices but can successfully take recourse to her sense of humor, by which at an opportune time, she can playfully turn the tables on her egoistical husband. The tendency to transfer resentments and disappointments from one individual to the other is such a common human trait that a husband may take it out on his wife, when he returns from a strenuous day at the office. Or the wife may take it out on the husband after she had had an especially hard time trying to keep up with the mischievous children. This is because communication was neglected. This kind of marriage will become boring. To ensure that your marriage is romantic, the man must not become too busy earning money that he fails to communicate with his wife. And the wife must not get so busy that she neglects communicating with her husband. Many times your intentions are not pursued by actions or words that would make them possible. To be able to communicate well; • Learn from your mistakes and be willing to change your communication pattern if you have been guilty of hindering communication in your family. • Always maintain respect for your spouse when communicating your differences. It is in order to disagree, but not to disrespect your partner. • It takes a lot of effort from husbands and wives to become good communicators. So make some effort in communicating well so as not to be misunderstood. • Don’t interrupt your partner; hear him/her out even if it take some time for him or her to communicate.

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When Your Marriage Was Successful Losing Your Spouse Can Be Traumatic

“Hello! Mom, are you home?” Cynthia shouted as she returned from the church. No one answered, but there was a shuffling sound coming from the rear of the house. Not a threatening sound, yet it was alarming given that the door was open and no one was around. Cynthia Mba walked through the living room, turning on the light as she entered. Mary Mba was sitting on the floor, a pair of antique doll in her lap. She didn’t look up immediately, and when she did, she seemed startled, like a sheep caught in the glare of oncoming headlights. “Mom?” Cynthia said, a muscle fluttering in her neck. “Aren’t they just lovely?” she asked, her voice softer than it normally tended to be. “They don’t make dolls like these anymore, you know. I’ll have to hide them, or your dad might break them. He’s always so angry. I don’t understand why he’s so angry these days.” A chill of foreboding crept along Cynthia’s spine. “Daddy is dead, mom. Don’t you remember?” When her husband died she wept ceaselessly. She couldn’t be consoled. She had not only lost a husband but her best friend, confidant, protector, provider and reliable man. She wished they died the same day. In order to be able to continue to live, she had made herself to belief that he was still alive, probably on a long journey from which he would eventually return. She made a move to rise, and Cynthia reached out to help her. “Mom, is everything all right? No one’s out in front, and the door was opened.” “Good heavens! What time is it? I’d better hurry and get dinner ready before your father returns from the office.” Cynthia drew a deep breath and, reaching out, took her mother’s hand. “I told you that daddy is dead.” “I’m so sorry, dear. I’m dreadfully sorry. I just don’t want to believe he’s actually gone forever. Forgive me.” Cynthia tightened the grip on her mother’s hand with her left, patting it gently with her right in an effort to calm her. “There’s nothing to forgive. Nothing at all.”

Cynthia moved into the living room and switched the television on with the remote to listen to the news. “Marriage is a commitment involving two people who choose to be deeply dependent on each other. Marriage is a chosen act –a process involving a person’s will and desire. Oneness between a husband and wife is a process that happens over a period of time. Becoming one can be a very hard process. It is not easy to change from being independent and self-centered to sharing aspect of your life with another person. But this is what Mr. and Mrs. Mba had achieved but Mr. Mba departed this world. They married when they were in their 20s and remained happily married till Mr. Mba dies a fortnight ago. He died at the ripe age of 95 years and they were married for 73 years. They actually practiced God’s injunction of “Till death do us.” We want to express our profound condolences to Mrs. Mba, his widow and their daughter, Cynthia Mba, who is our staff on the dead of her beloved father. May his soul rest in peace.” As she listened to the news, Mrs. Roberta James came in. “How are you Cynthia? Where is your mother?” “She has retired to her bedroom.” Mary had retired to her bedroom, but was unable to rest. Above their quiet conversation, the sound of footsteps, on the floor could be heard –forward and backward, forward and backward –a short pause, and forward and backward. Mrs. James gaze drifted toward the bedroom door. Cynthia could tell she was worried. “Did you speak to her about this?” “I tried. Cynthia sighed. “She assured me she’s fine, but I can tell the death of my father has depressed her. If you could have seen the look on her face when I found her, you’ll understand what I mean. I’ve never seen her like that.” She stopped, unwilling to add her own concerns to Mrs. James’. Mrs. James had been Mary’s friend for over ten years. “I have seen it, child. My own mother’s mind got weak after my father’s death. It was hard thing to live with, and I had my sisters to share the burden, and to cry with. You’re all alone in this, aren’t you?” “I’m fine, really. What she didn’t say was that she was shaken. Her mother had always been the one steady force in her life. Her safety net. No matter what happened, no matter how bad things become, her mother was there to support her, to give advice, and love, and the thought of her present condition was terrifying. “Don’t you go trying to sweep this under the carpet? You better take her to see a doctor,” Mrs. James advised. “Tomorrow,” Cynthia said, hugging Mrs. James. “Thank you for being here. I appreciate it, and I know she does, too.”

“What are old friends for?” Mrs. James said with a sad smile. “Listen, don’t to see a doctor, tomorrow.”

DON'T SHOW FAVORITISM TO ANY OF YOUR CHILD

Every child resembles each of his parents in many ways. It may be that the child In families where there are several children, relationship often becomes strained because parents show favoritism to one child above another. Children are quick to detect evidences of favoritism, but there is little the child can do about it. Parents should caution each other occasionally, however, regarding the possibility of permitting such a condition to develop and exist in their home. The basis for favoritism may date back to circumstances preceding the birth of the child, or may depend on some of the child’s personality traits, by which the parent becomes more sympathetic with one child than another. Father and mother have equal parts to play in determining the hereditary make-up of a child. Therefore looks like his father, but it may also be that he has a disposition like that of his mother. Certain of his features resembles those of his father and others those of his mother. Even the way the child thinks and reacts depend quite on the traits that the child has inherited. Some parents tend to love the child that looks or behave like them more. Before doing something for one child, the parent should ask himself, “Am I in a position to do this same thing, or its equivalent for the other children? if the answer is no, the parent should change his plans so that all children may be treated alike. The showing of favoritism is harmful to children. it is harmful both to the child who is favored and to the child against whom there is discrimination. The favored child, as he approaches maturity, may have learned to be so dependent upon

dependent upon the parent who has been overindulgent that he is poorly prepared to meet the realities of life. The discriminated child, on the other hand, may have developed the feeling that he is inferior to his brother or his sister, and so become victim of an inferiority complex. Partiality among the children also has its undesirable effects on the relationship of one parent with the other. Often each parent will select a favorite from among the children, the mother selecting the child that the father does not favor and vice versa. The situation causes strained relations between the parents, just as it does between the children. Even when the favored child leaves home, the rivalries and antagonism which have been developed between parents and other children may be difficult to resolve that the parents will no longer find each other’s companionship desirable. In some cases the expectant mother worries about whether the child will be normal. Another consideration of serious nature especially in undeveloped countries of the world, which provokes consideration speculation, is whether the child will be a boy or a girl. There is now scientific means of determining which it will be. The prospective parents can then go for scanning to remove the suspense. There have been cases, of course, in which either the husband or the wife centered so much expectation on the child being a boy or a girl that it was with difficulty that the disappointed parent became reconciled to the circumstance. In isolated cases these disappointments have carried on even into the later years of the child’s life leading to discrimination. It is unfortunate as well as foolish, therefore, that a parent should even harbor the thought of resentment against a child who happens to be of a different sex than he preferred.

For those who insist that their child must be a son they should take note that when the word, “greatness” is mentioned, Mrs. Golda Meir’s name immediately comes to the forefront. Her commitment to her country and her people was the paragon of patriotism. Born 1898 in Kiev, in then USSR, she ended up as the one of the greatest Prime Minister, Israel ever had. She voluntarily resigned from office in 1973. The great women called it quit when the ovation was still loud. It is long women began to inch their way up the social, political, and economic ladder, but recently there have been tremendous increase in such attainment. Germany has a woman Chancellor right now, the first in the country in person of Angela Merkel. Michelle Bachehlet has been elected the Chilean President. Nigeria has two female Supreme Court Justices. The first to be appointed was Honorable Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, and was later followed be Honorable Justice Olufunlola Oyelola. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won a significant victory to become the President of Liberia, Africa’s first female President. The lists of successful women are endless. With the facts before us is there any reason to discriminate against the girl child? There are equally endless lists of successful men, so there is no reason to discriminate against male children either. Whatever be the sex of your child get him or her properly trained and you will have no regret whatsoever. Both sexes are capable of greatness. Greatness is not a preserve of one sex.