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Men just need to do better

2021-12-09  Frieda Mukufa

Men just need to do better

For the whole year, I have been writing about women issues and how best to be the best version of oneself. 

I can honestly say I have had a great run this year. 

However, a lot of the compliments that came from men are often accompanied by why I am not writing about them. 

As far as I am concerned, the only way I would write about men would be to advocate for them to become feminists or allies. 

 

What does that mean? 

Often, a lot of men assume that feminism is here to eradicate all men from the planet. 

Well, that would not be a bad idea, but that is not the case.

 Feminism is not men against women; it is not women against men – it is all of us in this together. 

As much as we talk about bettering the world with different things, it is, however, impossible to do so without a feminist agenda. 

Women should be included in these conversations. So, as a Namibian man, what can you do?

Firstly, you need to be alert with the type of conversations you engage in with your homeboys. 

Sitting around in establishments discussing women and degrading them to whores and sluts because of the many sexual partners they have is not it. 

Sitting at drinking establishments cat-calling women who came to have fun – those are practices you need to do away with as a man. 

You should also refrain from engaging in conversations where you say you will only protect your sister or friend. 

No, you should be able to stop your male friends from harassing a female you do not know. 

It is of paramount importance to note that men need to pay attention to power and privilege. 

This means that as a man, you should question the privilege and power that comes with being a man; use your voice where you can, call other men into this, and call men out when they cause harm. 

We must acknowledge that men didn’t carry the flag that got us here. 

It has been women’s lives and voices that brought the feminist agenda to the table. 

When in spaces where you see a woman is subjected to harassment, speaking up against your friends or the people harassing her is the first step in supporting women. 

Another way is to stop being a rape apologist. 

When you read of a rape case, questioning the woman’s dress code is being a rape apologist because you are perpetuating the very toxic culture we are trying to do away with. 

There’s no amount of revealing clothes worn by a woman that would make her get sexually harassed. 

Men just need to do better.

When you do these things, you are recognising that we exist in a patriarchal society, which should allow you to better understand the need for feminism, and for movements to work against the existing patriarchy. 

Just because feminism works against the effects of patriarchy does not mean feminists hate all men. 

Instead, men can be seen as allies to women in the fight against patriarchy. 

The support of men in the feminist movement will ultimately benefit people of all genders.

Lastly, please take the time to educate yourself daily by integrating feminist blogs and websites into your internet reading routine. 

Rather than clicking on the standard news and opinion sites, seek out websites and blogs that address current news and issues from a feminist perspective. 

This will allow you to access the perspective of feminists and support them by reading what they have to say. 

 

• Frieda Mukufa’s lifestyle section concentrates on women-related issues and parenting every Friday in the New Era newspaper. She also specialises in editing research proposals, proofreading as well as content creation.

-etuholefrieda@gmail.com


2021-12-09  Frieda Mukufa

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