BY AGATHA CHUMA AT many of the country’s institutions of learning, peer pressure has been a major talking point which inspired budding novelist, Hebert Mutanga — a student at the University of Zimbabwe to address the subject in his debut novel Wakapindwa Nei?
A need to fit in or fear of rejection mainly causes college or university students to get involved in things which they may not be comfortable with, but they do so simply because they want to be part of a particular group.
Peer pressure comes in different forms, direct, indirect, unspoken, positive or negative.
In most circumstances, the outcome of decisions made under peer pressure can be negative or probably terrible which raises the need for attention from society.
The 22-year-old Mutanga penned the novel from a well-informed perspective.
Wakapindwa Nei? is a narration of an orphaned girl who was given an opportunity to study by her uncle. She, however, fell victim to peer pressure at a mission school.
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The book also shows how innocent girls turn into deviant students due to pressure from schoolmates.
“The future of our country depends on the type of generation that is being raised now. In this generation which is popularly labelled “ama 2000”, a lot of indecent acts and behaviours are being witnessed in communities and in institutions particularly universities — be it abortion, prostitution and drug abuse,” he told NewsDay Life & Style.
“After running a survey as a novelist, I just realised that peer pressure is a parasite that is attacking students mostly. We are forced into situations that we never dreamt of being in, but because we want to fit in within people whom we call our friends, we end up stuck in difficult situations which we struggle to get out of.”
In the novel, Mutanga appeals to parents and society to talk to children when they have done something bad and not instantly punish them since they go through a lot which sometimes leads them to engage in weird activities.
“As someone concerned about our generation, I just felt Wakapindwa Nei? will be of great importance for society to get a glimpse of the causes of certain behaviours that have become a trend in learning institutions,” he added.
Mutanga is set to publish three more novels Tendai, an appreciation of war collaborators, Datya Rangu, that discourages rituals and sacrifices and Amai which appreciates motherhood.
- Follow Agatha on Twitter @AgathaChuma