In this article I interrogate the gender agenda from a male stream bias as both an artist and also gender and policy enthusiast and academic.
I inculcate the element of art, but my draw is to also speak deeply of the issues that have a premise on the capacitation of men.
We speak of how men have feelings and emotions too. We are also speaking of how a man can cry, and in the process feel vulnerable and weak, which is something very deep and of relevance in the discourse of art and development.
The engenderment of the male discourse in art and development is also something that has to be strengthened by the talk of empowerment and the capacitation of men.
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.
It is a portmanteau of the Australian-English diminutive word for moustache, "mo", and "November".
I feel this is a very great initiative as on 18 November we commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men.
Remember that men too are also victims to different forms of violence and abuse, which is something seldom spoken of in the gender discourses.
Raising awareness, and acknowledging the importance of safe spaces, and promoting equality, ensuring the well-being of all individuals is one of the key precepts of this day and predominantly the month of November.
While the work toward protecting women against domestic violence in a predominantly male-driven world is extremely important, it has been going on for decades. But even though the work to protect women is good, many people don’t realize how prevalent violence and abuse against men is.
One of the most important ways to observe International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men is to get educated and informed.
The research can be difficult to find, but artists have the challenge to research even more and have a deeper understanding on issues of masculinity and the challenges men experience.
The majority of people may assume that most domestic violence is against women, perhaps because men are typically larger and stronger, or maybe because women seem less likely to be violent.
But the statistics tell a different story up to 40% of domestic violence victims are male and up to 25% of domestic abuse crimes reported to police have male victims.
As we approach the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, it is of note that women within the context of Zimbabwe have been suppressed for many ages and hence many campaigns have been promulgated which cater for their cause.
But how many campaigns do we have for men? Why is the empowerment of men closeted? Are we driven and stimulated by stereotypical thinking?
In this scenario, I strongly feel that it’s high time we start campaigns for men empowerment, not only to teach them about protecting themselves against GBV, but to ensure they desist from being perpetrators of GBV.
In Bulawayo for example, I applaud many artists and creatives who are calling for the voice of the boy child to be heard and acknowledged.
Mzoe 7 has a platform he calls “majida lets talk”, and Mzingaye Shoemaker also last week hosted the “men’s conference” - a platform where men were discussing issues that hurdle them through the promotion of suicide awareness and the issues of depression which affect men.
This is an example of artists taking initiative and the first step at addressing the plight of the boy child who is marauded by a lot of challenges.
Empowering men means that we should begin by giving training of basic life skills to young boys from an early age. This will not only make them ‘self-dependent’ and self-reliant but will also make them more empathetic towards women who work hard in homes.
After all, chores such as cooking food, cleaning homes, doing laundry, and taking care of people are just some simple life skills that everyone needs to know to survive in life without being dependent on anyone.
Just as young girls are taught how to ride a bike, driving a car, and studying hard to get a job in order to be ‘self-dependent’, boys too must be made self-dependent by making them experts in household chores. It will make boys feel empowered and to be in real competition with girls.
I will pose a rhetorical question about whether we as artists understand what gender equality means?
When we hear the word gender don’t we always think of women empowerment?
Can men do what women do or can women do what men do?
These are important rhetorics we have to be edutained on by creatives so that whenever we are addressing issues of gender, art and development we remain aware and conscious of the need to create a balance.
The empowerment of men means that we should be giving males full freedom to express their emotions from early childhood.
One of my unreleased songs is titled “when men cry” which addresses the issues of the depth of the mental health of men.
As an edutainer, in this song I am saying that don’t tell young boys when they feel like crying and shedding tears that 'boys don’t cry!’ Why do we say so?
Who has decided this for boys that they can’t show their emotions and feelings?
Why can’t they be sensitive like girls? Why do we burden them with our orthodox expectations of not showing their vulnerability and crying bitterly like girls when they are hurt?
It is absolutely fine to cry, and in fact very necessary to encourage boys to show their emotions and cry their hearts out whenever they feel like it. It will give an outlet to their pent-up emotions and instead of being violent and aggressive which they often become due to suppressing their emotions, they will become more humane and caring.
There’s nothing wrong if boys like subjects like music, and humanities more than science and technology.
There’s seriously nothing wrong with all these. Let them be the human being they want to be instead of pressurizing them into being a ‘perfect macho boy’.
Last but not least, don’t mock men who love doing household chores or taking care of their kids. Don’t ridicule a man when he prefers to be a stay-at-home-dad while letting his wife work. These are the dynamics and the changes in the tides of time.
Don’t judge men who don't like to spend time on things like painting, cooking, and singing, instead of being busy in the rat race of criminal activity to earn maximum possible money.
Let every individual — whether a man or a woman, live life the way they want to instead of pressurising them into being something or someone else. Life is precious; let everyone live it, enjoy it and celebrate it. We are doing our bit to empower women and now it’s time to empower men too.
- Raymond Millagre Langa is musician, poet, orator, independent researcher and founder of Indebo edutainment Trust. You can follow on Facebook @Millagre Ray Langa, on X you can follow on #Millagre Langa, email. [email protected] or [email protected]
