Men in an abandoned Johannesburg neighbourhood admit they’ve played a role in the country’s escalating violence against women and vow to change.
In the narrow lanes of Organic Market, a strip of corrugated‑metal shacks just outside Alexandra township, a group of men sat in a circle at a local tavern. Kgomotso Mathekga, 30, shook his head and said his hands have once struck a partner in a drunken argument. “I once had an argument with my girlfriend, and I grabbed and slapped her,” he recounted, pausing as other men nodded sympathetically.
“We must stand together to fight against gender‑based violence and femicide,” said Bra Steve—Itumeleng Stephen Tamaga, the local organiser of Father A Nation, a non‑profit that trains men in positive masculinity.
Father A Nation says it has run workshops in more than 30 schools across South Africa, aiming to give men a safe space to process feelings and learn non‑violent conflict resolution. Craig Wilkinson, the group’s founder, told the men that “you choose what kind of man you want to be” and that every son must become a role model in a society that currently sees many fathers in prison.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly acknowledged that the government has not done enough. He announced plans for better street lighting and new reviews of unsolved cases. Yet data from the South African Human Rights Commission shows that between April and June this year alone, 569 women were killed—an average of six a day—while 1,052 more survived attempted murder.
Local women, including Providence Maseko from a nearby hair salon, speak of a climate of fear. “We are not safe when we are outside our place,” Maseko says, carrying a basket of clothes. “I now take an e‑hailing taxi everywhere.”
As the men’s meeting wrapped, Bra Steve urged listeners to share their stories. “We must talk about these things,” he urged. “Come to our meetings and we can learn to trust each other.”
Kgomotso Mathekga, moved by the discussion, declared that men now have a chance to become the positive influences his own father and many other men in prison could not be. He said he will continue to practice what they learned and hopes it will transform his community.
