The sexism in the rhythm of our songs 

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(እያነቡ እስክስታ)

By Kalkidan Asmamaw 


እውነት ለመናገር “ቆየን ካየን” የሚለው ዘፈን በጣም beaቱ ጸድቶኛል፡፡ Everytime I hear the song whether it’s in a cafe on my work desk. ተነስተሽ ዝለይ ዝለይ ነው ሚለኝ፡፡ ወዝ ወዝ ማለት እወዳለሁ፡፡ እንኳን እሄን አግኝቼ፡፡ እንዲሁ ሰው ስብሰባ ላይ ራሱ ተሰብሳቢ ሲያጨበጭብ መሃል ላይ ገብተሽ አስነኪው ነው ሚለኝ፡፡

But I find the lyrics of the song, problematic. I mean, በቃ Ethiopiawi ወንድ ዘፈን ከዘፈነ ስለ ሴት ልጅ ቁንጅና መሆን አለበት እንዴ? Honestly, some Ethiopian female singers also sing about male beauty. However, the way women’s beauty is sung about, expressed, and admired is just fascinating to me. It’s almost presented as this mystical phenomenon. ግብጾች ራሱ ፒራሚዳቸውን እንደዚህ አያደንቁም፡፡ ምጽም፡፡ ግን እኮ if we think about it, it is just about
having certain features—features we didn’t even get to choose.

ደግሞ የእሷ (ዘፈኑ ላይ ያለችው) ቁንጅና ለየት የሚያደርገው ምንድን ነው በቃ ከሁሉም ትበልጣለች፡፡

ነጋ ስንል ሻማ ከበን
ጸሃይ በአንቺ ትታዘበን” እያለ ያሞግሳታል፡፡

ያው ለነገሩ ኢትዪጲያዊ ወንድ ሲጀነጅነን እንደዛ አይደል … “አንቺ እንደሌሎቹ ሴቶች አይደለሽም” is whአt they say. And the weird part is that it works. We want to be better than other girls. እኛም እኮ ተበልተናል፡፡ ጭራሽ ውሸት እንደሆነ እያወቅን ..

…….በዘፈን ይነግሩናል … እኛም እንዘፍናለን፡፡ 

ከዛ ደግሞ ይሄ ሰውዪ የእሷን ቁንጅና ፈልጎ የነበረ እና እሷን አይቶ ሲሰቃይ እንደነበረ ነው እንግዲህ ዘፈኑ ሚገልጸው፡፡ As if the rest of us girls have been haunting him with our ugly looks. Like, ቡግር ያለባት ሴት ወይም ደግሞ ጥፍሯን ያልተሞረደች ሴት እንደ electric shock ነው የሆንበት እኮ፡፡ ወይ የወንድ ልጅ መከራ፡፡

…..በዘፈን ይነግሩናል … እኛም እንዘፍናለን፡፡

But I find myself pondering how many times I’ve heard this song and uttered the word “ቆንጆ” (pretty) in association with a girl. I reflect on the numerous songs with similar themes and the subconscious programming that may have influenced us. It’s not surprising that, often, men tend to prioritize appearance over other qualities.

ከፍትፍቱ ፊቱ አይደል የሚሉን፡፡ The societal emphasis on physical attractiveness seems ingrained, shaping our beliefs.

Moreover, I observe the distorted belief system that results from society placing significant value on ቁንጅና (appearance) for women. It creates an environment where individuals(both genders) may feel entitled to comment on it, even in situations where power dynamics are clear, professionalism is undermined, or comments become excessive. When people perceive others as objects rather than recognizing them as individuals with feelings and rights, there’s a heightened risk of engaging in harassing behavior. This failure to acknowledge the impact of one’s actions on the well-being of the person involved underscores the detrimental effects of such societal norms.

ስለዚህ እስቲ ስለ ሌላም ነገር እንዝፈን፡፡

ስለሴት ልጅ መማር፣ መስራት፣ ስብዕና፣ ተጫዋችነት፣ ደግነት፣ ጠንካራነት ምናምን  እንዝፈን፡፡


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