Africa-Press – Botswana. First Lady Neo Masisi has called upon men and relevant stakeholders to work together to groom boys.
Speaking at a men and boys intergenerational round table session in Letlhakane on Tuesday, Ms Masisi said talking to boys about issues affecting their lives could eventually be a solution to social ills such as gender based violence and drug abuse.
“We should, as uncles, fathers, including pastors, talk to these boys. Show them the right direction of life and eventually groom them into men that can build strong families,” she said.
She highlighted that drug abuse was an issue of concern and the affected group was predominantly young boys, hence the need to come up with efficient and effective measures to address the ills that had bedeviled the country.
Nonetheless, First Lady Masisi, speaking in a her capacity as the UNAIDS special ambassador for the empowerment and engagement of young people in Botswana, noted that countries had signed and set sustainable development goals to attain by 2030.
For his part, Member of Parliament for Boteti East, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe, said Letlhakane was a mining area, therefore it had a high number of men, something that he said contributed to high number of GBV incidents perpetrated by men.
He noted that during the lock down, the area recorded a high number of GBV cases.
Kgosi Baruntshi Kegapetswe of Letlhakane implored the youth to stay away from drugs as they destroyed many lives.
He said the recent years had seen an influx of drugs in Letlhakane and these were mostly used by young boys.
Men Sector coordinator at National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency, Mr Nonofo Leteane talked about manhood and toxic masculinity, saying such in most instances translated into GBV.
He said the way men were socialised, they had developed a sense of entitlement such as always wanting to control or have an upper hand, hence issues of GBV being inevitable.
Social expectations and stereotypes, Mr Leteane also said contributed immensely to GBV.
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