The third biennial National Men’s Parliament took place in Cape Town on 21 and 22 November 2022. Convened under the banner of the Takuwani Riime Men’s Movement, this was a platform for men to discuss challenges faced by men with a special focus on the prevention of Gender Based Violence & Femicide and other social ills and tackling the spread of HIV/AIDS & TB.
The Theme was “Takuwani Riime! Institutionalising a Responsive Men’s Movement”, and topics discussed included mental health for men, lack of men friendly health-care services and the absence of men in raising boy children.
“Our children are being taught by the streets, they are being taught by the television and the cellphones, the same devices that we buy for them,” Oupa Baloyi from Gauteng said.
There were also calls for deployment of more male social workers to encourage men to open up about the issues they face when they visit health-care institutions.
The “Road Towards the National Men’s Parliament” was preceded by the provincial Men’s Parliament earmarked to sit on the 1st week of November 2022 across all 9 provinces, following the 52 districts’ Men’s Parliaments sittings that should all take place by the month-end of October 2022.
“Takuwani Riime” Men’s Movement through the Men’s Parliament’s underlying principle is to ensure mainstreaming, coordination, and implementation of coherent and interconnected men’s movement activities through the Men Championing Change program.