Few men in Kenya understand the origin of the word 'feminism'. With rising cases of male suicide, femicide, misogyny and sexual violence, we have to begin getting more curious about the African man's worldviews and the place he finds himself in the 21st Century.

Women's groups continue to demand for women's rights across the continent causing a huge backlash with patriarchy. What is patriarchy? Who created it and how has it affected men's lives? Why is it so easy for men to blame women for their own misgivings? What's going on?

In discussion today is the politics of the African man’s body. His body as a tool both for oppression and exploitation. His body as a mystery to him. His body as a stubborn enigma. In the complexities of gender capital, trauma, and cultural nuances.

I speak about my rape ordeal at 20 yrs old, the silence surrounding male rape, sexuality as a social construct and the politics of a man's body.

We're discussing the meaning of masculinity. What it could possibly mean in the African context and the complexities of identities within it. I’ve shared personal stories which are common with many of us across the continent; of boys who didn’t grow up close to their fathers for different reasons. I needed us to be curious about this word before we delved too deep. To conceptualize it in our day to day life. To interact both with its homeliness and queerness. To spark thought. For you and the boys and men around you.

It is necessary to understand how a combination of a colonial past, patriarchal cultural structures and a variety of religious and knowledge systems create masculine identities and sexualities.

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