SA’s men have to resolve crisis of ‘poverty of thinking’
Men in SA are suffering from a “poverty of thinking” and that is why the country is gripped by gender-based violence.
That is the view of Pastor Nomso Phillips, a member of the Ministers Fraternal pastors group, which was part of a mass prayer meeting against genderbased violence and femicide in Mthatha on Wednesday.
The event was hosted by the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality in partnership with religious leaders and the Unitra Community Radio (UCR FM).
More than 200 people, including acting AbaThembu King Azenathi Dalindyebo and politicians, attended the meeting.
“We are in this [situation] because of the poverty of thinking among men,” Phillips told the crowd.
“In Africa, we are engulfed by poverty. But that does not mean a lack of access to resources. It means poor quality of services, poor quality of choices and even poor quality of thinking and doing business.”
She said the onus was on fathers to talk to their sons and guide them to become responsible men.
“This [prayer revival.”
UCR FM station manager Nombuzo Mabizela-Mnqandi said many women were damaged emotionally as they endured meeting] is
abeatings and abuse from their partners. This hurt was exacerbated by the fact that women were too scared to report abuse to the police.
She likened South African women to flowers, as just as flowers provided the oxygen that humans breathed, women had the ability to give life.
King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal spokesperson Sonwabo Mampoza said the prayer meeting had been organised by mayor Nyaniso Nelani, who was deeply concerned about the alarming crime rates in Mthatha.
Nelani had reportedly held an emergency meeting with the heads of KSD’s seven police stations last week to find a solution to the problem.
Last year, the Dispatch reported that Mthatha ranked ninth for having the highest murder rate in the country.