The kitchen has always been seen as a woman’s domain, a space where mothers, aunties, and daughters ruled with pride. And recipes passed down from generation to generation. Cooking wasn’t a task; it was a form of love and legacy in households.
But things have changed.
Today, women have stepped away from traditional roles not just because life has changed, but because some simply no longer feel obligated to carry the roles their mothers embraced with pride.
Busy schedules and urban lifestyles have become the go-to excuses, but the truth is, many have chosen to detach from responsibilities that were once seen as a source of strength and respect in the home.
It’s now common to hear: “He has hands, he can cook too.” or “Siwezi mpikia mimi, he can order online.” And while the idea of shared responsibility is valid, some women have used it to justify abandoning their side of the deal, expecting men to now take up both traditional male and female roles.
So what are men doing? They’re rising to the occasion.
Not every man grew up learning how to cook, but today, many are teaching themselves. From YouTube tutorials to TikTok hacks, they’re in the kitchen experimenting and slowly mastering the art of cooking.
Not just cooking to survive. They’re getting really good at it.
Plating food with finesse, posting their creations online, and receiving compliments like seasoned chefs. Men have made the kitchen their turf not as a battleground, but as a space of pride and independence.
Yet society still holds double standards: A woman who can’t cook is seen as modern or focused on her career while a man who can’t cook is often called lazy or immature.
This is why the shift matters.
Cooking is no longer a gender role, it’s a life skill. A man who knows how to cook is not just a potential husband, but a whole, self-sufficient human being.
However, in many modern homes women have grown so comfortable that they are now watching from the sidelines.
The home should be a shared space, and food, a shared responsibility. But what happens when one side starts treating partnership like optional work?
When some women proudly say they can’t cook, won’t cook, and don’t care to learn and expect men to provide, protect, and now also plate up meals?
It’s not about who “should” cook anymore, but who will. And let’s be brutally honest, many men today are now wearing the apron. Not because they’re saints, but because women have weaponized feminism as an excuse to abandon responsibility.
The same women who once inherited recipes and pride from their mothers now boast about never stepping into a kitchen. In the name of empowerment, they’ve walked away from what once defined strength and balance in the home, leaving men to juggle both gender roles like circus acts.
And here’s the irony, these same women still expect a man to provide, protect, and pamper. But when it comes to cooking? “Mwanaume si mtoto na mimi sio mamake!.”
True empowerment is not about doing less but it’s about doing your share. Sadly, that memo got lost somewhere between modern feminism and misplaced pride.
So if you see a man in the kitchen these days, don’t mock him. He’s not only just flipping chapatis but he’s also flipping the script, while picking up roles others dropped without warning.
