Dear Editor
I am writing to express my concern over the issue of suicides among men in our country. These suicides are being taken lightly as most of them are widely shared and discussed on social media where close to no serious deliberations and a call to action is being reached.
This year alone, we have received reports of more than 8 men averaging 1 man per month committing suicide because of intimate partner relationship issues or what is being termed crimes of passion. These are only the numbers that saw the light of the media, what about those which are never shared or published in the media?
While as a woman, I cannot condone or condemn the behaviours of women leading to these deaths, culturally, men are socialized to be strong, enduring, and able to resolve their issues on their own. Even from a tender age, when a boy child is injured, the advice he receives convinces him not to cry because “men don’t cry”. All these social and cultural norms coupled with fear of being ridiculed are further pushing men to the edge.
Apart from the results of mental health issues we are seeing through suicides, men are also enduring mental health issues being caused by abuse and Gender Based Violence (GBV). During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many activists and organizations were crying out for the safety of women, girls, and children from the abuse of men but no one was considerate enough to remember men who are also victims of abuse. We are so consumed with protecting women and fighting for their rights such that as a society, we are forgetting about the plight of men. With such a mind-set where then do we expect men to run to? Who will listen to their issues with a non-judgmental ear? Who will be the voice of the voiceless for men and who will stand in the gap to let them know that it is okay to cry, it is okay to reach out for help and the end of a relationship should not be the end of your life?
I call upon us all of us as a society to make deliberate efforts to consider mental health issues for men and make deliberate efforts to resolve the contributing factors. No life should be lost to suicide!
Concerned Citizen
Melody B Mukundwi
Dzivarasekwa
Harare
