Learning another way
Prabu Deepan writes about how Tearfund is helping men challenge the damaging misconceptions of what it means to be a man
In some cultures, men are socialised and pressured into behaving in ways that are aggressive and domineering, because of a belief that this is what it means to be a man. This has a significant and violent impact on the lives of the women and girls around them. But it also harms the men themselves, who can feel trapped, alone, unable to express their fears or to seek support for their trauma. They become locked into a damaging misconception that this is the only way to be a man.
Alongside working with women addressing inequality and sexual and gender-based violence, Tearfund – a Christian international development charity – is training men up to be Gender Champions....
When his children asked where their mummy had gone, Nyasha didn’t have the heart to tell them. In a dispute over money, Nyasha had sent his wife away to live with her parents.
They had put aside 100,000 Zimbabwean Dollars (ZWD) (£200) from raising chickens to build a chicken run. Then, his wife’s brother became very sick and the family asked Nyasha if he could help...
“I had plans for the money,” says Nyasha. “I told them that we couldn’t help.” Shortly after, he returned from visiting a nearby town to find there was only 25,000 ZWD (£50) left. His wife had...
