Men are prized over females, particularly in the traditional African context, because of the family name. While times have changed, there still some parents stuck in the past over their refusal to educate their female children because of their belief that it is  a waste of resources that would directly benefit her new family in the course of a legal union.

In Purple Hibiscus, one of the protagonists, Aunty Ifeoma, despite her limited resoures, cared for her traditionalist father that was neglected by her wealthy brother. On a ride to a festival, ther old man professed his ignorance because he told her she did not matter (because of her gender) and she rebuked him by asking if Eugene ever inquired of his health. At first, I used to think that maintaining the family name took precedence over other obligations, but I have decided that day to day care for one's parents carries more weight than maintaining the family name, particularly if the man is competely negligent of his familial obligations. When my grandmother's maid left, it was my mother who marshalled my siblings and I to tend to her farms. Dont get me wrong, my uncles cared greatly for their mom,  but I think my mother's care exceeded theirs in various ways. Every Sunday, I recall her preparing food for me to take over to her village where my mother lived. Fortunately, the proximity was a consideration because my village and my mother's village are close to one another. In the western world, it would be the caring one who would inherit the family's property, but in the traditional African context, that would be considered a sense of familial duty expected of a female. But even if the male was an absentee in the household, customs would favor him over his caring sisters in the division of the property. I know of another female, an only child, who built a house for her parents back in the village and people were impressed by it. So, while they are caring men, I do have to wonder, which man would seriously walk into the kitchen on a visit to their parents, to cook for them?