This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
On October 21, 2019, Eldoret hosted a men's conference, marking a new chapter in Kenya's gender discourse. However, the event drew mixed reactions from Kenyans, with some dismissing it as an ill-informed affair.
The conference, which was highly attended, featured a keynote speaker, Mzee Jackson Kibor, an 85-year-old Uasin Gishu farmer and politician who has been married three times and has had bitter divorces.
Mr. Kibor advised men to 'be firm, non-violent but not to be easily swayed by their women,' adding that he has always advocated for strong men and even defended their rights in old age.
Supporting the conference, Nairobi pastor and speaker Robert Burale termed it 'a time to break' and a gathering that would help 'to restore the roar' among men.
Mr. Burale noted that men prefer not to talk about their vulnerabilities and instead 'scream in the inside.' He argued that the problem is compounded when men compare themselves with other men who are more accomplished.
Some women too, feel men— especially the married ones—are under siege. Some Kenyan men, Joyce Musonga, said are facing domestic abuse, and that the majority of them hide 'their vulnerability on social media owing to their egos.'
However, others dismissed the conference, with Keya Amachilang arguing that such a conference would only lead to broken marriages, making reference to Mr. Kibor's divorce from his wives.
Experts observe that in the last few years, there has been a growing feeling that after decades of empowering women and girls, boys have been left behind. They argue that this isolation is largely to blame for widespread alcoholism, rising school dropout rate and a growing trend in toxic masculinity among men.
