By Melisa Mong’ina
The African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET) has organized a regional Men-to-Men Workshop bringing together stakeholders, organizations, male champions, and allies from different parts of the continent.
Wells Motali, the chairperson for the Central Region of the Movement of Male Champions for Gender Equality in Malawi, emphasized the challenges men face in expressing their emotions and the need to address gender-based violence.
“We came of age in an era that discouraged men from showing emotion, one that encouraged us to endure adversity, to persist tirelessly even when our energy waned. Yet, society placed greater expectations on us, from our earliest years as boys, and still demanded we take charge even over our older sisters, simply because of our gender,” stated Wells Motali.
The stakeholders, organizations, male champions, and allies from different parts of the continent attended the workshop to encourage open discussions and share experiences, and best practices in promoting male engagement and gender equality.
He continues to say that human beings must express their emotions because boating up everything may lead to gender-based violence therefore, they are participating in the men-to-men workshop to find ways of mobilizing men around gender equality.
“We are gathered here to participate in this workshop, where we aim to explore strategies for engaging men in promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence. It’s important to acknowledge that, while men have often been stigmatized as perpetrators, sometimes it’s due to a lack of understanding about societal expectations,” said Mr. Motali.
Mr. Motali men to be courageous and open up and express themselves since they are also human beings and not special beings
“I aim to promote men’s ability to express themselves openly because we are all human beings, and we should act as such, without the need to be seen as unique or different. We live in a society striving for equality, where they expect us to contribute equally,” noted Mr. Motali.
The workshop includes an evaluation of the Women and Girls SRHR project’s advancement and serves as a platform for formulating strategies to increase male involvement in promoting positive masculinity as a contribution to the cause of gender equality.
Mr. Motali cites that men are feeling disempowered because women and girls have already been
empowered thus making them fear being criticized by the empowered women and girls, therefore
making this challenge that they are facing as men.
“Many young men may hesitate to enter relationships with highly empowered women because they fear criticism and straightforward discussions. This challenge arises from a fear that women might be more empowered than men. However, we can use this as an opportunity to create a balanced and equitable society,” said Mr. Motali in an interview.
According to Faith Nashipa the CEO of Thriving Communities Africa, men are still in patriarchy thus our sons are being taught and initiated into patriarchy by their fathers.
She adds that they have not done much to help the man evolve yet the woman has evolved over the years.
“We have done very little to change this narrative. We have done very little to help the man evolve yet the woman has evolved over the years. So what we need now is not to fight each other. What we need is to bring everyone on board,” said Faith.
Nashipa, the National Co-chair of the Male Engagement and Inclusion Thematic Area in the Gender Sector in Kenya, encourages women to facilitate men’s evolution by bringing them alongside. She emphasizes the importance of supporting men to become the best versions of themselves, enabling them to fulfill their roles, while also empowering women to do their part.
“We should not exclude men and boys; our goal is to include them in our journey. We aim to help them transition away from patriarchy. It’s essential that our message is clear: we are not trying to diminish their masculinity but to recognize their potential. Let us support them in becoming the best versions of themselves. When they achieve that, they can fulfill their roles just as women do. In this way, we all reach our full potential, contributing not only to ourselves but also to our community and society.”
