University of South Africa: Re-imagining the role of a new man out of the ashes of crisis

In the spirit of starting the journey towards healing, redeeming and empowering men, Unisa, in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Legislature, successfully hosted the 2022 Unisa men’s conference on 16 November 2022.

The event sought to address matters around masculinity under the theme Re-imagining the role of a new man out of the ashes of crisis, with the sub-theme Healed, restored, empowered. The conference was attended by more than 80 men and women from religious organisations, academia, the government, and the community.
Gilbert Mamorobela, Unisa’s protocol officer, together with Thembeka Ntuli-Mpapama, Unisa Women’s Forum (UWF) executive committee (exco) member from Unisa’s Gauteng region, were the programme directors for the day. Motale Nkgoang, Regional Director: Unisa Eastern Cape Region, opened the proceedings with a word of welcome.

He outlined the shocking rape statistics and mentioned that men were the main perpetrators. He indicated that society has lost trust in men, hence the ongoing call for the life imprisonment sentence in court cases. He said that “as a country, we have reached a state of crisis that has prompted a platform to re-imagine the role of man out of the ashes of crisis”.

In setting the scene, the conference organiser and UWF exco member, Dr Vuyokazi Sigaqa, gave her personal recollection of growing up when she was made to believe in indoda ayikhali because crying is regarded as being “woman-like” and is therefore perceived as a sign of weakness.

Sigaqa reminded the delegates that gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) are ravaging our country. “However,” she continued, “without trivialising it the truth is men are wounded. At times they feel defeated by life’s circumstances and as the American actor Denzel Washington asserts, pain in a man is passed down from father to son, son to son. Therefore, like any wound, it must be healed in order to break this cycle. It is through healing that the functionality of our homes will emerge and be sustained. Healing does not happen overnight but requires a lot of patience, perseverance, kindness and understanding. The journey of transformation starts with all of us here today. Out of the deliberations of this conference, we should all be committed to make the change that we want to see as our former late president, Nelson Mandela said.”

Nyusisizwe Noto, student administrator advisor from the Eastern Cape Region, introduced the keynote speaker, Professor Somadoda Fikeni. Fikeni is one of the most recognised figures in South Africa and is an African political and social commentator widely used by local, national, continental and global media, including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Turkish Global TV, and some German, American and Australian media. He is currently Acting Chairperson and Deputy Chair of the Public Service Commission of South Africa.

In his address, Fikeni said that every generation must discover its mission. “To be a real man,” he said, “we are told not be human but are encouraged to be superhuman. Society does not allow men to be emotional and showing signs of vulnerability and weakness is also taboo. The space is created for you to humanise your experience and be the real you. At the same time, a newly transformed landscape is demanding that you should be human. You should show emotions, a soft side, and affection. Similarly, when we say a man should provide for his family. The reality is that in some instances it could be a woman who is the breadwinner. And how do we then locate the man in the psyche and the scheme of that?”

He continued: “We have to deal with how to unlearn the toxic issues and values that we have embraced, so that we relearn something new that creates a moral code for society. As Martin Luther King Junior once said, even though we may face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. So let’s dream together. But let’s be practical, identify programmes, prioritise them, sequence them, and resource them working together in re-imagining the new man.”

Up next was a panel discussion. Dr Themba Malinga, a medical practitioner, encouraged men to remember that although a lot is expected from men, medically speaking, the female body is more efficient than the male body and because of that, chromosomes give men testosterone. Malinga alluded that some of the current challenges of men can be connected to how men are raised.

The second panellist was Abongile Mangala, a radio presenter at Tru FM, author, and pastor. He reminded delegates that we are living in a society where we are told that there is no right and wrong. He encouraged delegates to teach a boy child to voice out. “Let us teach a boy child to voice out his pain, his frustration,” he said. “Let us not make a boy child believe that he is strong enough on his own. Let us teach him that vulnerability is strength. Silence is a sign of weakness.”

Up next was Rev Sandile Msimanga, founder and senior pastor of Thy Will Ministries International, who indicated that human beings are social beings as well as spiritual beings that should be anchored in some form of spirituality.

He was followed by Mlibo Qoboshiyane, Deputy Speaker of the Eastern Cape Legislature, who encouraging delegates to acknowledge and recognise the social pressures that men are facing, which may ultimately trigger misconduct in men, as well as issues that they suffer from in silence. He added that out of 6000 cases of suicide in 2022, 5110 were men.

Judging by the reactions from the audience during the conversations as well as the reactions on MS Teams, a conference like this was long overdue with most participants requesting for an annual men’s conference.

The event was accompanied by a special prayer for all men, the university and society at large, performed by Rev Sandile Msimanga. Finally, Professor Sepota Moloko, Acting Deputy Registrar, concluded the event by suggesting a way forward and a vote of thanks, congratulating the organising team under the leadership of Dr Vuyokazi Sigaqa with the support of Professor Meahabo Magano, UWF chairperson, Thembeka Ntul -Mpapama, UWF exco member, Dr Thuli Shandu-Petla, UWF exco member, Claudia Fratini , UWF exco member, and Obakeng Motsamai, UWF member.

Moloko indicated that he believes this will not be the last Unisa Men’s Conference, but that it will become an annual event, which will serve as an initial step to contribute towards providing a safe space for men to converse about masculinity, gender-based violence, patriarchy, and misogyny.