Do we need a minister for men?
ISOMEWHAT flippantly suggested to my wife a few weeks ago that since men in Fiji have so many problems, we probably need a minister for men. I wonder how the Government would react to it
When Ben Bradley, a British MP made a similar proposal in 2020, he was laughed at. Maybe the Fiji Parliament would be more receptive to it.
Some time ago, the BBC’s Woman’s Hour ran a segment on the idea of a minister for men, featuring a MP Nick Fletcher, who had proposed this idea in the British Parliament a few years later. The MP also appeared on Good Morning Britain. There have been some respectful responses in the press, largely from women.
Britain has a cabinet minister, Kemi Badenoch, whose role includes being the Minister for Women and Equalities. Equalities? This led me to think of a book we studied in high school — Animal Farm by George Orwell.
When the animals of The Manor Farm staged a rebellion and drove farmer Jones and his wife off the property, they converted the farm into an animal-run republic known by its new name Animal Farm.
The pigs developed a set of seven commandments expressing the farm’s guiding political philosophy. And put it up on the wall.
Snowball, the pig — (somewhat akin to a leader) read it aloud for the benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement. By the end of Orwell’s book, the Seven Commandments had disappeared from the wall, replaced by just one — “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.
The animals who, in the end, defined themselves as “more equal than others” were the pigs.
In Britain, there is a women’s health strategy and a women’s health ambassador. They shine a spotlight on issues specific to women. But there is no minister for men or a men’s health strategy. To make matters worse, there remains opposition to it.
All over the world, men’s and boys’ wellbeing is in crisis, but nothing is changing. In fact, it is not just ignored, but matters are getting worse. In Britain, even the Government Equalities Office does not mention men in its published remit.
The same situation seems to be prevalent in Fiji. Most men waste their lives drinking kava or alcohol, spending hours on social media and beating up their domestic partners. They are not only poor role models for their children, but entirely unproductive and irresponsible members of the community.
Just a few weeks ago, our Prime Minister expressed deep concern about the high incidence of fatalities due to NCDs. Not to mention the increase in STDs.
There is a 93 per cent increase in the consumption of hard drugs. Men die young. Most of the occupants of prisons are men. Many kids are taking hard drugs. They are not finishing their high school education to enable them to get gainful employment. The problem is getting so widespread that the military has offered to intervene.
These are all troubling facts, but there is little focus to address them. Merely stating that boys are a problem for society is a poor approach and not the answer.
It only makes matters worse and is hardly empowering for boys who are not doing well at schools, have dysfunctional families, and are being drawn into violence. I constantly wonder what the parents are doing about it.
Have they relinquished the responsibility to bring up their children to become decent human beings and productive citizens in their community?
So we do need a minister for men who should focus on these issues. He should help to change the political conversation that seems to imply that only women have problems and that men are the problems.
There is a pressing need to attack the root rather than give antibiotics/vaccine after the problem has resulted in a mess. And band aid treatments for deep wounds never help.
The minister would help to drive through better health outcomes for men and close the gender attainment gap in education. He would tackle the underlying causes for why so many men are in prison and why so many young men are not in schools.
We need policies for men like a men’s health strategy, for victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence, reduction in drug use and for improving boys’ education. Maybe there should be life coaches to teach the right values.
We also need a positive conversation about men and boys centered on the positive things they do and what help they need. Perhaps they need to be mentored in creating an awareness in eliminating misogyny which is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy.
Solving these issues will clearly support the lives of women and girls also. Men and boys doing well means women and girls doing well too. We share our lives and society together. Healthier husbands and partners, sons and brothers doing well at school, less fear of violence, and a better economy. It will helps us all.
If we believe in an equal and inclusive society we need to look after our men and boys — and our women and girls. Men have problems — some specific to being men, some merely because they are humans in an imperfect world.
Men suffer specific mental health problems and use more violent methods, and men are more likely to abuse alcohol.
The most practical way to represent these distinct problems in Parliament is surely through the existing minister for social services. St. Giles Hospital is bursting at its seams and the prisons are crowded.
When we look at all these issues, the need for a minister for men becomes even more urgent and not so far-fetched.
Heck in PNG, there is even a minister for coffee. So I had a fleeting thought — should we have a minister for kava. But the minister for men portfolio should take precedent. ■ ARVIND MANI is a former teacher who is passionate about quality education. He lived in the US for 35 years and was actively involved in training youths to improve their speaking skills. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.