Prodigious young female author Fatoumata Bayo has lamented that the media has brainwashed young girls of her generation about marriage.
The young author was reacting to a question in an exclusive interview. She was quizzed over the themes or stories she feels are most important to tell or amplify as a young woman writer.
The promising author said the themes she portrays in her works often pertain to the joyous and sad moments of marriage, which capture both sides of the coin in as much as marriage is concerned.
“This is because the media has brainwashed young girls of my generation so much that we think that marriage is the only way to end our sorrow, poverty and struggles,” she explains. “The media only gives you what you want to see. We all will choose to watch a happy ending movie than a movie that will end in sorrow.”
The author bemoans that girls and young women have become so lazy and materialistic, and everyone wants to get married to the type of a guy they see on TikTok, who gives his wife cars, gifts, money and other material possessions.
“Women,” she said, “don’t want to work towards having those things themselves; rather they want a man to do that for them. There is one problem to be dependent and even a bigger problem to be materialistic at the same time.”
The young author urges her fellows to work hard towards becoming independent and self-sufficient, and not see marriage as a poverty-alleviation scheme. “They need to be schooled that marriage is way bigger than what we see in the media,” she enlightens. “It is very important we take out time as women and work on our personal growth before getting married.” The award-winning author expresses hope that her works would impact readers and breed change in the Gambian society and even beyond, saying she wrote every single word in the books she has published not only with love but also with honesty and sincerity.
