BORN A CRIME: BEING LEFT-HANDED IN AFRICA
Many ambidextrous Africans were initially born left-handed but were forced to reject the use of the left hand in eating, writing, pointing or gesturing. The use of the left hand has largely been reduced to just wiping one’s buttocks after visiting the toilet in many traditional African societies. Infants who showed signs of being predominantly left-handed were either beaten, scolded or given a lecture on how inappropriate and disrespectful they were being.
“Lefties”, as left-handed people are often called, usually have no choice especially in a typical African home than to adjust to the use of their weaker right hand. This usually results in bad handwriting and the occasional use of their left hand in gesturing and greeting, much to the anger of those at the receiving end or bystanders.
Forcing people to change the use of their hands when writing from left to right can have adverse effects on their mental health since the art of writing does not only involve the use of scribbling ink on paper.
The human brain is designed such that, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body whiles the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. Each side of the brain has specific functions it performs and tasks they are excellent at doing. Any attempt to abruptly force people to change the use of the left hand in writing can cause great distress and confuse the brain, leading to side effects.
Some reports indicate that some of the negative effects associated with being forced to change from left to write when writing are bad handwriting, stuttering, shyness, poor concentration and bad memory.
The negative effects associated with forcing people to become right-handed far outweighs whatever good we want to instill in them by forcing this change. It is about time we do away with outmoded practices that have done the society no good but have been passed down from generation to generation.
Famous “Lefties” and Their Impact in Society
- Barack Obama
Barack Obama was the first black man to become president of the United States of America. The eloquent 44th president was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his tremendous help in “strengthening international diplomacy and cooperation between people.” Despite being a left-handed person, he is well admired by people all over the world for his contributions to humanity and his iconic personality as a world leader.
- Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Kenyatta is the current president of Kenya. He has offered free maternity services for women in all of Kenya’s public hospitals and has successfully lifted Kenya to a country of lower – middle income status and making it the sixth largest economy in Africa. President Kenyatta successfully improved Kenya’s ranking on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index (DBI) by 56 positions from 136 to 80.
- Oprah Winfrey
America’s famous television show host, Oprah Winfrey, is the first African-American woman to acquire her own production company and was once television’s highest – paid entertainer. She has secured her place in history for running a highly successful television show that has spun a period of about 25 years, helping lift a lot of people out of poverty in that time frame. Oprah Winfrey is also the richest black woman in the world according to Forbes.
Conclusion
Certain practices are outmoded and should be done away with! It does not matter that it’s been passed down from generations. If it does not contribute to the development of society, then it should be discarded. This is a call for parents to allow their children express themselves irrespective of their dominant hand. Forcing your child to adopt the use of their weaker right hand does not in any way make them useful members of the community. Rather, it may have adverse effects on their mental health and outlook on life. Let’s be guided!
Were you born left-handed but was forced to become right handed? How did that affect you? Let’s hear your story!
Submitted by: Richmond Setrana
Ghana
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