The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement
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The role of men in the struggle for gender
equality: possibilities for positive engagement
Bafana Khumalo
abstract
This briefing argues that another world is possible – one in which men and women work in partnership against
gender injustice, and it calls for commitment to this partnership to establish a firm foundation for South Africa’s
democracy so that future generations can be proud of the role we have played.
‘Is it possible to live calmly and the struggle for gender equality.
keywords happily when you know that two- It is worth noting that the amount of
thirds of human beings are suffering, interest in this subject by a broad section of our
men, violence, gender hungry and poor?’ community is unprecedented. It is our hope
equality, democracy
(Boff, 2005) that through this engagement, we will
contribute to the national debate that will
Introduction shape policy formulation and, where necessary,
Boff’s statement above is just as inform law reform that will benefit the gender
relevant for his audience in Porto Alegre, Brazil, equality agenda.
as it is for us down South, as his penetrating
question can be translated into our context. Is it Context
indeed possible for us to live calmly and South Africa’s sordid past with its legacy of
happily when we know that more than half of institutionalised and systemic inhumane
our citizens – women and children – are practices of racism and sexism, still rings fresh
violated physically, emotionally, economically today. Incidences of gender-related violence
and psychologically? remain a huge blot on our otherwise positive
Boff’s statement is part of an interview he report card as a young democracy. We recently
gave shortly after a World Council of Churches heard the story of a 79-year-old, well-respected
Conference in Porto Alegre, the overarching Bishop in the Vhembe District in Limpopo, who
theme of which was ‘Another world is possible’. allegedly, repeatedly raped a 9-year-old girl.
It is my contention that another world should What added insult to injury, was that the
be possible for women and children: a world community broke the silence when the little girl
without the sordid scourge of violence and all died as a result of his brutality – it turned out
kinds of violations. For that world to be a that the perpetrator had a record of abuse
possibility, all of us, both men and women, against his wife. This raises very serious moral
need to work in partnership against gender and ethical issues for us as a country. How our
injustice. This briefing argues for this possibility society continues to give a man with a history of
from the perspective of men’s involvement in spousal violence the label of ‘respected
88 Agenda Special Focus 2005BRIEFING The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement
community leader’ is right at the core of the abuse towards women and children is testimony
challenge that confronts us. Why is it that our itself to an urgent need for more men to be
society ignores the plight of women and children involved in South Africa in the progression of
in such circumstances and continues to show gender equality.
respect for persons of such invidious character? Men can and should play a role in the quest
The rise of violence, including rape by for gender equality. I submit that the struggle
young boys in schools, points to the depth of for gender equality is key to the success of our
the challenge that confronts us as we seek to vision for a vibrant democratic society. In the
unmask the roots of patriarchy. This kind of last decade, much of the work in which we have
behaviour points to what Leach (1994:36) all been engaged, focused on women’s
refers to as the politics of masculinities: empowerment. While this was vital, it is my
humble submission that perhaps the time has
Like femininity, masculinity operates politically now come that we, as gender activists, need to
at different levels. At one level, it is a form of broaden the base by targeting men to be part
identity, a means of self-understanding that of the struggle for gender equality. There are
structures personal attitudes and behaviours. many others who also assert that the scourge of
At another distinct but related level, gender violence cannot be dealt with
masculinity can be seen as a form of ideology, adequately if the perpetrators of such heinous
in that it presents a set of cultural ideals that crimes are not part of the processes that seek to
define appropriate roles, values and eliminate this crime from our society.
expectations for and of men.
Premise
The manner in which we socialise our children I must hasten to state that our call for an
needs serious review. A week ago we were increased focus on men as a sector is not by any
alerted to a trend of unfair labour practice means intended to undermine the gains that
within the private sector, relating to threats to have been made by women over the years in
career and job security of pregnant women. the quest for gender equality. On the contrary,
That employers can discriminate in this way, this process is intended to support these
even though they know it does not conform initiatives and ensure that men play a proactive
with the law, points once more to the arrogance role in gender transformation. The issue of
of a patriarchal system that sees women as leadership of this struggle for gender equality
expendable in the production process that is is not in dispute: this role should continue to be
hell-bent on making profits at all costs. played by women. It is pivotal for us, as we
This is all part of a bigger malaise embark on this process, that we do not
confronting us as a country, and points to the compromise this fundamental premise.
persistent and disturbing ideology of male In contemporary South Africa, economic,
superiority and female inferiority which agricultural, social and religious policies are
continues to pervade South Africa at all social generally presented as if they are neutral, by
formative levels, entrenching false myths about those who draft them, yet they often have a
women’s and men’s roles. Coupled with the differential impact on various categories of
multiplying negative effect of discrimination people, including women and men. When
through racism, black women in South Africa analysed from a gendered perspective, it is
have suffered even more than their white often clear that such policies are not neutral,
female counterparts. The violent nature of but benefit men more than women. This results
Gender, Culture and Rights 89The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement BRIEFING
from sexism, patriarchy, kyriarchy and Hopkins (2003:27) says, even more specifically,
misogyny, exacerbated by aggressive neo- capitalist democracy in the United States (and its
colonial free market economies which purport hegemonic influence in other contexts)
to be neutral. influences women’s and men’s relationships by
The analysis, therefore, of the role of men situating ‘males of a certain race as the primary
in promoting gender equality in the context of occupants of power positions and owners of
post-apartheid South Africa, and globalisation, wealth and capital’. It results in the creation of a
is an urgent and important task for gender hierarchy of gender, class and race. Accordingly,
equality, justice and just relations between the gender hierarchy produced by capitalist
humanity and the earth. Gender equality is democracy results in the supremacy of the
understood in this briefing as a state or situation minority over the majority as it ‘thrives on seeing
where women and men have conditions for another human being as someone to be used
realising their full human potential and rights and dominated for profit and the accumulation
to contribute to earth/ biodiversity, knowledge, of more wealth’ (Hopkins, 2003:27).
national, political, economic, social and The entrenchment of economic
cultural life, and to benefit equally from these. globalisation, particularly privatisation of public
resources and the transformation of agriculture
The broader global environment to meet the needs of a globalised market
Human societies, according to Hopkins (2003), economy, is contributing to the gradual erosion
create meaning of gender in various of women’s biological resources and knowledge
ways. These meanings are often systems. According to Women’s Action Agenda
influenced by mediums such as for a Healthy Planet report (2002):
schools, sports, visual and audio
Gender research has
entertainment, sex roles, jobs, The opening up of trade in agriculture has
clearly demonstrated the professions, church and other faith resulted in hardships for small farmers to
presence of gender bias institutions, news media, languages, compete in the world market, and increased
in social and natural myths, rituals, laws and race, to dependence on monoculture production,
shape gender relations between fertilizers and genetically engineered seeds.
sciences
women and men. The contemporary
context of economic globalisation Consequentially, this leads to the disruption of
and capitalist democracy, according the cycle of local economies and the
to Hopkins, also influences people’s devaluation of women’s indigenous or local
or community’s perceptions of gender and the knowledge. The privatisation of pubic utilities,
roles that gender plays in society. He comments infrastructures and basic public services, creates
(2003:27): new social disparities in access to resources and
leads to marginalisation of women in
The capitalist system sets the broader context biodiversity and the care of the earth.
of all definitions and formations of gender. According to Howard (2001:2-3):
This political economic structure maintains a
bottom line culture of profit making at the Gender research has clearly demonstrated the
expense of the majority of the people. The root presence of gender bias in social and natural
of the profit culture is private ownership of sciences. This means that scientists take
capital and wealth by a small elite group of prevailing gender norms in a society to be
families headed by men. ‘natural’ and often incorporate these norms
90 Agenda Special Focus 2005BRIEFING The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement
into their theories as unquestioned economic value and as generators of
assumptions. [they] assume male intellectual value. Economic globalisation
predominance and take men’s behaviour and deepens this exclusion and becomes a threat to
knowledge to be standard whereas women are the survival and integrity of local communities.
given little importance, or their behaviour is
seen to be ‘deviant’ in comparison with men. Economic globalisation puts the rights of the
Gender bias affects theories, the questions poor and the vulnerable groups to
formulated, the methods used and the meet their basic needs at the mercy
research outcomes. of financial intermediaries. It also
stimulates the growth of financial A gender-sensitive
It is in part due to these challenges (exclusion corporations at the expense of the approach requires a
of women and communities in Africa, rights of Africans, especially
priori recognition and
devaluation of indigenous knowledge and the women. According to a
actions to address
expropriation of African indigenous knowledge) Commonwealth Secretariat and
that African scholars and activists have International Labour Organization structural
questioned the very definitions and parameters brief, it further exacerbates African disadvantages
of knowledge. women’s burden as they generally
Feminist, womanist and African scholars have:
have written about the extent to which
Eurocentric epistemologies have worked to … a triple burden in undertaking the
systematically exclude the possibility of those traditionally prescribed role of caring for
outside the western paradigm, and of women children and the elderly, engaging in food
and their agency in knowledge production. production as well as household duties and
These scholars and critics have focused on how carrying out the tasks of enhancing,
the epistemological construction of Europe, developing and transmitting agricultural
implicit in the international laws on knowledge, knowledge and know-how in the community.
intellectual property rights, trade etc, has been
constitutive of racism and of benefiting Europe Gender analysis in this case clearly shows that
and not other continents. the decisions at international level on who
African scholars such as Samir Amin, ought to own and control the processes of
Mahmood Mamdani, and women in the eco- development discourses, theory and practice
movement, have contested the ideological are decided by people of the North. As
underpinning of dominant models of indicated by Hopkins above, such decisions
economic development and scientific result in a hierarchical relationship where a few
progress. On the Diverse Women website, it is companies – and the white males who run
pointed out that development has been used these institutions – become the major
to under-develop Africa and have highlighted beneficiaries of these activities while women
that mainstream or Eurocentric construction and men from the countries of the South (Africa
of economic development and scientific in particular) are generally marginalised from
progress were based: the benefits of their knowledge and resources.
A gender-sensitive approach requires a priori
… on a particular construction of production recognition and actions to address the
and knowledge which excluded women and structural disadvantages that African men and
the third world communities as producers of women face, which are worsened by the
Gender, Culture and Rights 91The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement BRIEFING
capitalist implementation processes. According third world countries get feminised through
to Randriamaro (2000:3), it is essential that emasculation in the market place.
gender analyses:
According to Miles (2001:867):
… identify who is part of the ‘private sector’
that is targeted by the neo-liberal state. In this The impact of these business practices on the
regard, it should be noted that the prevailing growing number of economic losers is
definition of the private sector excludes the heightened by the simultaneous shredding of
informal sectors where the major part of social safety nets as the neo-liberal ideology
women’s economic activity is located. In plunders the protected spheres. This
addition, measures to promote the appropriation of public wealth by corporate
development of private sector in Africa include capital is legitimized in an ideological climate
mainly policies directed at large scale that denies all communal life and redefines all
industries and ignore the small scale public wealth as personal impoverishment.
production in which the majority of women
are engaged. Miles observes that corporate globalisation
today is commercialising and colonising not
Privatisation, which is one of the only the means of life, but life itself. Women’s
characteristics of economic work and responsibility for the bearing and
globalisation, ‘has intensified some sustaining of individual and communal life has
of the existing gender, class and become the central ground of both patriarchal
Globalisation is further
race-based inequalities that poor capitalist development and the construction of
rendering invisible and women farmers are subjected to’ alternatives. She suggests (2001:870) that:
destroying women’s work (Women’s Environment and
and intelligence Development Organization, 2002). Women in both economic south and north are
Barwa et al (2003) argue that especially vulnerable to the harms of corporate
privatisation is a gendered process globalisation, but particularly active in resisting
in a number of ways. They point out and in articulating alternatives.
that privatisation and patenting
have historically been processes of exclusion of Globalisation is further rendering invisible and
women as well as some racial and ethnic destroying women’s work and intelligence and
groups. They argue that privatisation and nature’s work and the integrity of ecological
patenting of knowledge has, in places like the processes. The impact of globalisation is
European agriculture and health sector, therefore to take resources and knowledge that
become ‘the domain of male scientists and have hitherto been under women’s control, and
researchers who denied the relevance of social that of the third world communities, to
knowledge’s to their work’. generate sustenance and survival, and to put
Ling (in Barwa et al, 2003:20) states that it them at the service of corporations engaged in
has become obvious that: global trade and commerce to generate profits.
In this sense, the association between profit and
… in the global market systems dominated by masculinity is visible in economic globalisation.
hyper-masculinised values that recognize only People committed to social and gender
certain forms of knowledges, work and justice are seeking to transform the dominant
competition, even the male populations of system through their participation in the search
92 Agenda Special Focus 2005BRIEFING The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement
for gender and socio-economic justice. Miles have women been legally viewed as equal
(2001:873) writes: ‘They reject the hierarchical, to men in most countries across the globe.
competitive, market ruled, patriarchal Sexism is both subtle and direct and
capitalism as less than human, even anti- communities can experience it without even
human.’ African cultures and practices of justice acknowledging that they are being
and feminist perspectives are essential in consistently discriminated against.
seeking alternatives to gender injustice and • The first step in positively
‘have yet to be properly heard, understood and engaging in the creation of
acknowledged by other movements’ (Miles, gender equity, equality and
2001:873). justice is for men to
Sexism is arguably the
acknowledge that, in essence
Men’s engagement and reality over hundreds of single most important
towards gender equality years, men have been obstacle to overcoming
• Men need to take responsibility for creating advantaged to the negative cost rampant oppression in
societies that have gender equity and of women. Acknowledging that
the world
equality. It is crucial, though, to culture has created and
acknowledge that there is a pervasive and supported a false ideology of
globally entrenched false ideology of the superiority of men over women,
superiority of men over women. So much is important in developing room
so that the system of discrimination is self- for greater positive participation of men in
perpetuating and self-inflictory, like in some the creation of gender equality.
of the rural communities where women are • In the last year, the Commission for Gender
bound through tradition to wait for their Equality (CGE) in partnership with the South
men’s permission. It is important to African Council of Churches, The SA Men’s
acknowledge that this has been a carefully Forum and the Moral Regeneration
constructed social engineering process of Movement embarked on an ambitious
power relationships, built over hundreds of programme targeting men as a sector,
years that involved systematic economic, through provincial workshops to engage
social, political and cultural exploitation. them on the challenge of gender equality.
• Extremely similar to racism, sexism is We have learnt many lessons from these
arguably the single most important encounters. What has been encouraging is
obstacle to overcoming rampant oppression men’s enthusiasm at these functions, and
in the world. The ideology of the the majority of men who participated were
superiority of men over women is very supportive of gender equality. In many
entrenched: in educational systems where instances, they raised very innovative
scholars learn and teach that men are better suggestions on how gender equality should
than women because of either physical be consolidated, particularly within the
attributes or endurance; through the media public sector, where much work has been
where consistent framing of images of men hitherto undertaken. Men proposed that it
are positive and framing of women is is vital that more men be targeted so that
negative; via language where usage reveals they are exposed to these issues. They
bias towards the man: ‘it’s a man’s world’, suggested a focus on shebeens/bars, sports
‘humankind’, ‘history’; and through centres, the entertainment industry, the
legislation where only in the last century media etc.
Gender, Culture and Rights 93The role of men in the struggle for gender equality: possibilities for positive engagement BRIEFING
• We participated in many functions where The attainment of gender equality, therefore,
several government departments were requires equal recognition and enjoyment by
setting up what they referred to as Men’s both men and women of all socially valued
Forum’s with the express agenda of opportunities, resources and rewards.
mobilising men to play a meaningful role We are certain that through our concerted
as partners in the quest for gender equality. efforts as stakeholders, we will transform South
• The Department of Education has African society so that it lives up to the values
established the Boy Education Movement enshrined in our Constitution. We all need to
(BEM), modelled after the Girl Education commit ourselves to ensuring that we build a
Movement (GEM). strong partnership between men and women,
• The Chapter 9 institutions are exploring the that we establish a firm foundation for our
possibility of setting up an annual summer democracy so that future generations can be
camp targeting the youth for training in proud of the role we have played.
democracy education which will include a I concur with Boff’s assertion: another
focus on human rights, gender world is possible! It must, of necessity, be
rights, democracy education etc. possible. A world where gender relations will
be properly understood as a relationship of
These strategies, combined with equals and where differences will be
efforts of other civil society celebrated. A world where the boy child will
We will transform South
organisations, will go a long way view himself as a mere mortal, equal in all
African society so that it towards creating a new culture that respects to the ‘other’. A world where the girl
lives up to the values embraces gender equality as a child will enjoy all the freedoms and all the
enshrined in our value. rights as a full citizen in her own right.
Constitution
Conclusion References
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Rev Bafana Khumalo is the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE). Khumalo
is a theologian with a background of professional and activist experiences, including participation in
peace accords during the days of conflicts in South Africa. He provided leadership in various projects and
presented many papers in the field of theology, including HIV/AIDS. Email: bafana@cge.org.za
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