In this series we tackle issues that society is plagued by as a result of men in society that go on to perpetrate such social ills. Examples include, rape culture, GBV, African Tradition and how that perpetrates violence or oppression in any form against women and other social issue. The aim is to deal with the ‘man’ from all perspectives, victim and perpetrator, with the aim of finding a solution to solving social ills that affect family, women and children.
In the 2021 year's edition of MVMP, we discussed issues relating to cyber bullying, victim shaming, men’s role and expectations in society for them to be better individuals, family dynamics and the silencing of women who have been sexually violated by family members. This event was hosted on a web platform called Zoom. We successfully invited guest speakers like Prof Sokudela, Emihle Majikija, Mashilu Moshabela and a few members of the UPSSWA society.
This event revolves around women hygiene products and creating awareness around the challenges faced with women who do not have access to free, quality assured women hygiene products particularly in the rural area context. We also touch on menstrual health practices aimed at educating young girls who are not fortunate to have such topics with their parents. We held a successful online campaign via Instagram with the assistance of PlegdeAPad and the UP Law House. We hosted a total of 3 Instagram Live sessions with representatives from both societies where we discussed various issues relating to menstrual health and hygiene.
Here we celebrate women who are doing really great things in society like leading companies, mentoring students from under-privileged schools, building hospitals, empowering women through creating employment etc..This is usually done during Women’s Month to commemorate and celebrate women. We managed to reach out to a number of women to get permission to use their pictures for our Instagram page. We then posted all the content on our Instagram page with a short individualized caption for each woman, as per the nature of our event.
On the 21st of April 2023, HigherHealth in collaboration with the StudentWellness Committee invited Male Students to a ManDown Engaging Men in Gender and Health – a weekend camp for male student champions at UP. This was an event aimed at training young men as ambassadors and advocates for healthy gender relations and healthy relationships.
The main topics discussed in the camp were as follows:
The students did not only sit down and listen they were given an opportunity to engage in various activities such as:
Highlights from the camp:
Jodie-Ray Motala
"Following the camp, I find that the most impactful takeaway was realizing the state of my current gender identity. As I live now, I often try to differentiate between idealism and my true feelings of identity and sexuality as a man. I think exploring the vast spectrum that is gender, under the macro of masculinity has given the idea of identity more nuance for me. It’s not a choice, it is just who you are. Everything else is a suggestion on the path to self-discovery."
Akanyang Marogoa
"The camp was refreshing and a safe - space created for men to have conversations that they would not normally have, I got to learn a lot as a man."
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