Being a single mother is not or shouldn't be a desired thing for any woman.
We have known that from time in memorial, when a girl matures into adulthood one single most important desire in life is to get married to a dream man and being blessed with children.
This is also what the parents of the girl-child wish for her. It is said that one getting married is the second biggest celebration in life that comes after being born.
In most societies, marriage is indeed a big thing that is supposed to mark a big milestone in each of the couple's lives journey. It is celebrated by everyone concerned.
However, as times have gone by, things tend to be changing and changing so fast and so drastically!
These days, it is not uncommon to meet many beautiful young or middle aged women particularly from the elite class referring to themselves as single mothers.
It is even said that there are numerous social groupings that have sprouted in town for the single mothers.
Of course, while talking about the subject of single mothers, there is no way anyone can possibly ignore or fail to appreciate the agony, horror and mental torture that many women go through most times at the hands of the insensitive, irresponsible and uncaring men that father the children with these women.
Most times, by the time the woman decides to be a single mother, she might have just felt that she has had enough of the horror that she has had to endure. It is certainly not a desirable status or condition for most women.
However, we need to note that our country is going into a serious moral predicament due to the ongoing glorification of single motherhood.
These days, it isn't rare at all to hear on these TV talkshows women celebrities talking and advising fellow women and the young girls that it is very fine to be a single mother.
They tell the young girls not to bothered with marriages. They encourage them only to get a child and they are done.
They tell them not to bother with staying in marriages or looking for marriages. They instruct them that having your child is all that you need and you should raise the child as a single mother.
We hear this constantly on most TV talkshows and I think we should be shuddering.
The most scary thing is the fact that no one seems to be taking note and caring about the impact of this insidious gospel that is derailing our society.
It needs to be appreciated that getting married, being married and staying married has never been a bed of roses. There are challenges, hardships, temptations and tribulations.
Marriage was never meant to be a walk in the park. It involves sacrifices, personal decisions to be made and being selfless in the journey of narturing the matrimonial relationship that both desire for.
The obligation goes to both the man and the woman. So, there should be caution in trying to always demonize one side when things fail to work out and turn to glorify the sad outcome of a failed journey.
The TV channel owners will probably argue that it is all about being innovative in providing content that resonates with their audience.
We probably just need to take caution that not always what resonates with the public at a particular time is always good.
This is exactly why the broadcasting regulator sometimes comes in to offer guidance on such matters.
There should be real fear that the notion of single motherhood if left unattended to but instead to be glorified as it is the case today, very soon the institution of marriage in which most of us the religious believers do uphold high our hope and trust will be eroded and replaced by other institutional formations like we are seeing emerging in the Western world and being promoted all over the globe to the chagrin of many but with alot of animosity.
As a country, in addition to fighting poverty and under-development, we need to up our fight against all the attributes that bring about or encourage or contribute towards irresponsibility, indiscipline, insensitivity and horror in our marital relationships that are giving rise to the increase in single motherhood.
