No doors, No locks, Just curtains

Privacy. Private. Personal. Every person is entitled to be free from any kind of invasion. Celebrities cry foul when their personal life is invaded by overly curious media people. Politicians summoned for public hearing always resort to the protection of rights to privacy. A teenager gets defensive when parents check a possession without due foreword. Everyone is almost absolutely aware of the importance of having privacy.

So how can one live with no doors, no locks, and only a wisp of curtains?

Houses in Masinao are the most challenging of all to live at. A person who is used to having his/her own room will be shocked by the thought of living in a place with barely any divider. If you are living with siblings of similar gender it is quite alright, but if you are a young lady living with your older brothers, it is unthinkable.

It must be common to think that people living in this kind of houses lack money to install doors with locks or construct decent walls between rooms. Even comfort rooms are victims of cost cutting. It is unusual, not to mention uncomfortable, to use bathrooms that are covered with nothing but sacks. 

What is intriguing about people in Masinao is the way they manage to live with such a transparent life. For them, having personal territory or space is not as important as living with a sense of security that there is nothing to hide. They don’t feel the need to put something that will conceal details from one member of the family to another.

How do parents keep their intimacy without their kids making the big discovery? It is very puzzling indeed to think about how people indulge in intimate acts and remain discreet. But how they do it is none of our business.

What is remarkable is the way they keep privacy by respecting each others spaces. People know how to keep distance when situations ask for it. They know how to ask first and test the waters before inviting themselves into the comfort of another. Whoever said that doors are the only thing that can protect privacy is being simplistic or naive. A lot of bad things can come from a malicious mind. A mean soul can damage a peaceful nest while a clean mind generates respect. They are more aware of values than people who are living with spaces separated with doors and locks. 

This article is written not to laugh nor take pity at their condition. Rather, this is to point the fact that even without doors, locks, and with just curtains, one can still have privacy.