The MenCare Alliance, led by the international NGO Promundo, has launched the most ambitious ever programme to support the caring role of fathers. It has published the State of the World’s Fathers report.
Reframing the issue fathers – the link to global concerns
The challenge is to demonstrate how fatherhood matters to those who lead the great agendas of child welfare and gender equality. The report opens with this quotation from Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women.
“It is with the support of my father that I had the courage to enter politics and to work with others to end apartheid, promote social justice and advocate for equal rights for all.”
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka states:
“Promotion of gender equality in the household, particularly with regard to parents, is a key step in laying the foundation for gender equality in society more broadly.”
The challenges made in the State of the World’s Fathers report
The report presents a number of challenges.
- Policy makers should engage with the caring role of fathers. This applies to gender equality, child welfare, health, education, economic development, violence prevention and labour rights.
- Services need to stop perpetuating inequitable norms around men’s caregiving. This applies to health, education, employment and social services.
- Work leave entitlements need to be equal, paid and non-transferable.
- Work with men and boys, and women and girls on the sharing of care: educating boys about caring, Including fathers in parenting support and addressing “who does what?”, supporting fathers who face particular challenges – single, non-resident, gay, adolescent.
Photo: sandeepachetan.com travel photography. Creative Commons.
