Are Umbrellas For Women And Not Men?

ARNOLD LETSHOLO
Correspondent | Friday March 19, 2010 00:00

A young woman sits in a combi laughing uncontrollably as a middle-aged man comes rushing in, his clothes and face dripping with water. He frequently wipes his eyes with his right hand so he can see clearly.

'Is that umbrella not working?' she loudly asks the man, pointing to the umbrella in the man's left hand as he sits next to her. The man opens his eyes widely, raises the folded umbrella to his face, shakes his head, and foolishly grins then looks at the woman's face as if in search of an answer. He presses the button and the big umbrella opens, startling some people sitting close by.

The other commuters who had otherwise been quiet as they pondered what lay ahead for the day find something to talk about. The driver joins them.

'Ah! Dilo tse kana ke tsa lona basadi tse, rona le re golega fela. Ke mmaabo a bong a ne a se nkgolegella phakela. Kefa ke tsile go tshegwa ke batho fa. Nne ke sa itse le gore ke tshotseng (These things are for you women. You just enslave us with these. It is my wife who forced me to take it, here I am now, turned into a laughing stock. I was not even aware that I had it,' was all the poor man could say ashamedly.

'You men never grow up. Who cares for you when you catch a cold or influenza? If women are such gods that they can cause rainfall or high temperatures then what is your importance?' asks another woman in the back seat. The soaked man gives no answer. The majority of commuters in the combi laugh their lungs out. The distance between the rank and the first bus stop seems shorter.

A survey carried out later reveals more interesting information A construction worker says he has never used an umbrella in his 'entire 50 years.' 

Out of the 200 people counted walking in the main mall and linking routes that particular morning, around 190 carried umbrellas. Only 45 of these people are men.

'What do I use an umbrella for when I am perfectly covered in a rain-suit like this? Umbrellas are for women; they are the ones who like carrying things around, like handbags and shopping plastics. Men who use umbrellas lack something. Ke dikopa (lazy or abnormal in some way). That is what I think they are,' says Oreeditse Manti with a shrug. 

For Monei Montsi, a 35-year-old hawker, life is a matter of choice - to cover or not to cover yourself. She says her husband prefers wearing a raincoat because he has lost a lot of umbrellas as he commutes around Gaborone.

'He also finds the coat better as he can use it even at the cattle post where he usually goes during weekends and holidays. I mean out there you cannot go through bushes driving cattle carrying an umbrella. It will be torn by trees and even the animals themselves would be scared. During hot temperatures he wears a 'sporty' hat and I encourage him to wear long sleeved clothes. Otherwise men also have to protect themselves from soaring temperatures and pouring rain. They are human beings with feelings.'

Andrew, a 30-year-old man who was caught running for cover along shop corridors, said he never remembers to buy an umbrella. He does not even know where they are placed in shops.

'When it is pouring like this, I always tell myself I have to buy myself one. But unfortunately it is when I do not have money to buy it that it rains. As for the scorching sun I am an African, monna hot temperatures are ours. Just a sporty hat and maybe sunglasses are enough cover.'

Some, like taxi operators - Mike and Shima - prefer the type of umbrellas that look like big Sotho hats. They have everything just like a normal umbrella except the long handle. They are specially designed to be fitted on the head. They feel this type of umbrella is not so easily lost as they do not have to continuously fold and unfold it.

Lesage and Monica, students at the Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies (GIPS), say their partners never carry umbrellas, but do not mind holding their umbrellas for them (the ladies) when they are together. They both find nothing awkward in a man carrying an umbrella.

'It is only that men have some things they give priority to over their own bodies. They are the ones who mostly smoke, drink excessively or engage in every risky behaviour you can think of,' says Lesage, smiling.'Yeah! They like being naughty and irresponsible,' adds Monica.

For Boitshepo Moreng, having to buy an umbrella with increasing frequency has taught him a good lesson about how to handle an umbrella, whether he is boarding a combi or any other form of transport.

'The best thing is to put it on your lap once onboard. You cannot leave without it dropping so immediately it falls you will be compelled to remember it. I think I have spent more than P100 on umbrellas alone and my fiance is always complaining about the way I keep on buying umbrellas due to carelessness.'    

A shop assistant in a Chinese shop at the Gaborone Bus rank mall says they sell both big and small umbrellas for P15 and P25 respectively. Most of their customers are women.

'Men usually come rushing to buy when it is raining. I know of at least one man who comes from my home village who is always buying umbrellas here. He says he forgets them in combis. Poor man, I pity him,' said Boitumelo Toteng.

Interestingly, a trader in medication, including skin diseases, Ravika Tsile, says excessive heat can cause skin diseases like rashes and sun burn. This affects both sexes and covering one's body with an umbrella and long sleeved clothes is advisable. 'Discouraging men to cover themselves draws parallel to saying men should not cry to show how they feel. Strength has got nothing to do with allowing excessive heat on your body or allowing heavy rainfall to drench you. You will get colds and your productivity at work will drop. This country needs productive men and women,' said Tsile.  (Sila Press Agency)