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Tendai Rupapa in Bulawayo
THOUSANDS of men of various age groups and social standing yesterday thronged Large City Hall for First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s male engagement programme as she spearheads efforts to interrogate health issues affecting men and enhance their involvement in efforts to curb domestic violence, drug abuse and child marriages, among other challenges.

So packed was the venue that some men had to follow proceedings from an overflow balcony, showing how citizens have fully embraced Dr Mnangagwa’s programmes, both as health ambassador and mother of the nation.

Amai Mnangagwa, who respects the country’s cultural practices, humbled herself before the men and asked for permission to engage them on various issues affecting them.

Among those in attendance were soccer players from Premier League teams like Highlanders, Chicken Inn and Bulawayo Chiefs, led by the Sport and Recreation Commission.

Attendees were tested for Covid-19 on entry to the venue where edutainment was provided by the ZCC Brass Band, Iyasa, Khaya Arts and Victory Siyanqoba.

The engagement came against shocking statistics on low male involvement in health matters.
In her address, the First Lady paid tribute to men for attending the programme, and called for regular checks by medical experts and to fight drug abuse.

“It is with great pleasure that I stand here today respecting all the men here who have come for this male engagement programme. I understand that our society as Zimbabweans is patriarchal with fathers being leaders or heads of the home set-up stretching to communities and societal levels.

“It is in light of this that I humbly ask you vana baba to give audience to the issues affecting our communities,” she said.

Dr Mnangagwa said fathers play a central role in moulding the direction of their households and their type of leadership was reflected by their sons and daughters who carry it on in their communities.

“It does not end there, but rather it can spread to societal levels through interaction at learning institutions, religious centres, shops and parks. Hence, if a father offers inadequate and improper leadership it will rub off on the children and they in turn will influence their peers. “Vana baba, it is my plea that you do not let the mothers carry the burden of raising families alone but rather, that you join hands with them in ensuring peace and stability in the homes.

“Our sons have fallen prey to delinquency due to alcohol, drug and substance abuse. They have lost focus and do not have any other aspirations on their minds except stealing, becoming hostile and other forms of harmful practices to squeeze and get money in order to fuel their addictions. Our daughters are now competing with their fathers and have lost all respect for their bodies.

“In our culture as Africans, the female body is sacred. In the bible it says these bodies are God’s temple and should be respected, but our girls have lost all sense of self-worth. They have abandoned our cultural tenets and all forms of chastity in favour of western culture.

As parents, we are crying and particularly us as mothers we are grieving. Vana baba, we need your help. Please intervene and retain the central role that you are expected to play. Be dignified fathers who lead by example through living respectable lives that our children can emulate and show out there,” she said.

Furthermore, the First Lady said: “Fathers, I am saddened that gender based violence is still rampant in our families and communities.

“My office opened the national gender-based violence toll free line 575, which is operated directly from my office. More and more calls are coming in and the demand of the national gender based line has increased now more than ever before. The main perpetrators are our male counterparts and the major cause of this problem is infidelity. We have fathers who have forsaken their families in favour of the so-called small houses who are mostly younger women with whom they spend all their earnings on.

“Men are neglecting their families; the mothers are left to bear the brunt of the family’s financial burden alone. If they are to ask the whereabouts of their husband, they are met with physical or verbal violence from their spouses.”

Dr Mnangagwa pleaded with men not to abandon their families in favour of unbeneficial pleasures of the world.

“Let us provide for our families and pay school fees for our children, making sure the whole family is nourished. Women are there as supporters and helpers but that does not mean your central role should not be played. Allow your wives to use their hands vaitewo mabasa emaoko atirikukurudzira kuAngel of Hope Foundation.

“The message I brought today is clear and it says men must play a central role in the utilisation of health services for their own health and that of their families as well as the entire community. Let us not shy away from going for medical check-ups.

“We have men who are on treatment for sexually transmitted infections and are not sharing with their wives so that they can also go on treatment. As the health ambassador I urge you to come clean so that you live as a happy family. I trust that today’s deliberations are going to come to a fruitful conclusion. Our children are our tomorrow’s leaders and they need our guidance as parents.”

The mother of the nation also spoke candidly against the sale and consumption of drugs which has ripped society apart.

“There are those who are bringing in drugs and we also know some houses and women who are involved in this selling of drugs, it is our duty as communities to report because there is no way we can end this when the drugs are everywhere. I heard that on some street corners people can hang a boot to show that they sell drugs,” she said.

“Our country is finished and our children are destroyed. Look at our ages now. We are looking up to those children to look after us. So men, what are you saying about our families? What are you saying about GBV, what are we saying about health? Your health, visiting hospitals and to know where you stand,” she said.

“My programmes are non-partisan. I am a mother and when it involves families, let us put our heads together. A mother is not selective and will never shun her children. She is there to correct them.

“It is not a gimmick; I am there to help people. I am people-oriented. First Lady is just a name, I am a mother, gogo, tete and today let us discuss freely. I know there are men who are also being abused by their wives, today is the day, speak up so that we mend our marriages. Let us fight this drug menace which is killing our children.

“Children are now mad because of drugs. I am happy soccer players are among us. Thank you my children for coming to learn because you know that drugs and sport do not go hand-in-hand.”

Mrs Failess Matemba from the First Lady’s Office, spoke about the National GBV toll-free line 575, giving people an understanding of the call centre.

“The main thrust of the First Lady’s initiative is to eradicate any forms of violence relating to gender and foster peace in the domestic set up. Since the inception of the national gender based violence toll-free line, statistics gathered show that women are mostly victims with men mostly being perpetrators. Most of these cases stem from contextual problems such as stress, lack of awareness on handling conflict, drug abuse, alcoholism and economic factors.

“In a bid to address this, the call centre has partnered with service providers to offer counselling services, judicial and spiritual upliftment services. The First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa has also gone a step further by empowering the victims of gender based violence by personally sitting down with couples, counselling them and assisting them with project empowerment,” she said.

National Aids Council (NAC) chief executive Dr Bernard Madzima, who was represented by provincial manager, Mrs Sinatra Nyathi, said there was need to correct the trend in men’s health issues.

“Missing men and boys in HIV services will lead to increased new infections thereby continually increasing the vulnerability of women who otherwise would have accessed the services. The Zimbabwe HIV and Aids Strategic Plan, which is running from 2021 to 2025, notes that four out of every 10 men have never tested for HIV, while 80 percent of women have tested for HIV and received their results.

“Only 62 percent of men have tested and have received their results. In addition to this, the strategic plan also points out that 8 out of 10 men are not tested for HIV with their partners during the prevention of mother to child transmission. Only 23 percent accompany their women to antenatal care,” said Dr Madzima.

Dr Tawanda Chikotosa, who was representing the provincial medical director, said Bulawayo Province was not spared from the common health challenges affecting men in other provinces.

Dr Chikotosa said sexually transmitted infections in men in 2020 were 3 987 while 4 331 were recorded in 2021, showing an increase.

For prostate cancer, 79 new cases were recorded in 2021, with four cases recorded between January and March this year, with experts saying that awareness and screening programmes by the First Lady were paying dividends.

Dr Chikotosa also spoke about mental health challenges and the need for a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary and robust approach in the fight against drug and substance abuse as the topical problem, which has a contribution to gender-based violence (GBV).

He commended the First Lady’s commitment to engage men.

During the interactive session, Mr Benjamin Moyo said children were assimilating bad things from their fathers.

“Children are learning from their fathers because you see them smoking among elders. What are we teaching them and elders who are selling them drugs that are destroying the children’s future? Amai you are the best First Lady ever. Thank you for coming up with this programme where we met as men to share notes and correct where we are getting it wrong for the betterment of our nation,” he said.

Similar concerns were shared by Mr Philani Ngwenya, who decried the surge in GBV.

“GBV is serious in the homes and women are partly to blame. As men, we love football but they want to spend the whole time watching Indian movies and not giving us a chance and that is where challenges begin. If we go to watch matches at the bar, they get angry that we are coming back late,” he said.

Mr Nqobizitha Dube said some men did not want to go to church and this was sadly copied by children.

“Most men do not want to go to church and this is aped by our sons. If a child is not God-fearing, nothing can stop them from taking drugs, stealing and impregnating people’s daughters. As men let us go to church with our families because the bible teaches a lot,” he said.

Mr Phathisani Moyo said: “The issue of 50-50 equality is stressing us. Our wives are no longer respecting us, they are no longer submissive because they are squaring off with us in the home.

“There are two cockerels in the home and now if a woman I married no longer respects me, I will end up being physical with her to put her in line.”

Mr Bhekimpilo Ncube from Bulawayo FC said: “As a team, we are saying no to drugs. As youths, we should focus on our careers. Drugs won’t take us anywhere, they actually destroy us, they kill.”

A representative of youths said parents were forcing children into drugs because of persistent fights in their presence.

Mr Tafadzwa Matope, who is disabled, said some women were too demanding and this often led to violence.

Superintendent Ramaphosa said drug abuse was rampant in the communities and everyone needed to get involved to curb the menace.

“Drug abuse is rampant in our communities Amai. As police there is need to work with the community. We introduced community policing to involve the community. The community members are the watchdogs, yet they are also selling the drugs.

“We are killing our children alone. We also have junior Call Amai as we want to catch them young. We do this so that children grow up knowing the law of the land,” he said.

The First Lady lauded Bulawayo police for bringing to an end the challenge of machete gangs.

“I want to thank Bulawayo police for bringing sanity on people who killed others with machetes. I also urge communities to work with the police and inform them when they know where drugs are sold. These policemen are our children, let’s work with them, let’s help them so that our country becomes peaceful. I will take resolutions from here and put them together with those from other provinces,” she said.

Earlier, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube expressed gratitude to the First Lady for her worthy interventions.

“I am very grateful that the First Lady has included us in her national programme to interact with men and interrogate various health issues that affect men. It is very rare to find men gathered together for a worthy cause like we are today. This is a first for Bulawayo men to engage with umama (First Lady) on men’s health issues. Of concern is the increase in incidences of drug, alcohol and substance abuse, gender based violence, sexually transmitted infections including HIV and cancers. I therefore invite all men at this conference to make sure that they may participate actively and at the end take something home from this conference,” she said.

The gathering left with smiles as the First Lady gave them food hampers.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, attended the event, among other officials.