A protest held outside parliament in 2020. Picture Courtney Africa/African News Agency(ANA)
Every Valentine’s, a running joke concerns a mythical men’s conference at which topics including “How to spend time with your friends without your wife getting mad at you” and “How to smell trouble when arguing with your wife” would be discussed.
Is it not time the myth became a reality, with men’s conferences being held in every locality? The topics would include “How to deal with conflict without getting violent” and “How to handle your emotions when a relationship turns sour”.
It is not women who kill women; it is men. And it is men who must lead in ending the violence.
We cannot rely on the government. Four years after the first Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, it has not arrested GBV.
All the right noises were made at the second summit, held earlier this month, but the numbers ‒ a 52% increase in femicide between the first quarters of 2021 and 2022 ‒ show that much more effort is required.
The president said there was a need to redefine masculinity and spoke of the importance of education, outreach and awareness-raising activities. But there was no concrete plan for these initiatives.
We cannot focus just on policing; we need a strategy that starts with communities. We need to change the environments which contribute to GBV and we need to do it now.
Women do not have another four years to wait, and 16 days is insufficient to effect real change.
The Independent on Saturday