MEC NOMANDLA BLOEM KEYNOTE ADDRESS

FATHER’S DAY PROGRAMME

25 JUNE 2023

BATLHAROS

 

Programme Director

Counsellor Tebogo Nyathi

Traditional and Religious Leaders present

Ministerial staff and Departmental Officials here

…and most importantly, the Fathers of Batlharos

It is a special moment for me to be here with you in celebration of Father’s Day.

We live, love and work and in most of our daily lives - the voices and will of men direct and guide and take lead. Men are eager to say the mind of a woman is a mystery. For us, it is a horrible mystery how we live in houses and communities with men who harm women and children in the worst possible ways. What lies beneath this thing?

This is probably not the most traditional way to start speaking when we celebrate Father’s Day, but we must admit to each other that this has become a problem.

As Fathers, as heads of our households, you HAVE to become active fighters with us, against the harm we as women must endure because, you see, I don’t believe God ever intended for men to rule households with fists and angry words, but with love and care and protection.

We have, in our country, longstanding legacies of poverty, unemployment, inequality and broken homes. Then we have men who express of this hurt and trauma in exactly the spaces where they are supposed to nurture and protect – in our homes.

The rape and killing is like a festering wound on the face of our national identity. It is no secret that we have one of the highest levels of GBV worldwide. It is something we are known for. This is horrifyingly tragic.

We have, these days, boys that do unspeakable things to girls at schools. Who do these young boys learn it from? We also have such an alarming increase in teenage pregnancies, we can no longer just do nothing. Who teaches boys that they can take without asking? That a woman is property and not precious?

We are the people. We are the fathers and mothers of our houses that raise the leaders of tomorrow. If we suffer violence, it is because we fail to teach peace and respect for the lives and the dignity of everyone.

We need men and women who understand the true meaning of words such as honesty and integrity, and who have respect for the rights of others. We need to foster greater religious tolerance and cooperation for moral renewal. In the times we are living we cannot have the church turning its face away when women and girls are hurt in homes.

Men here today must ask themselves what is it that they think of women? How do you view women as people, as members of the society, as wives as daughters? How do you view yourself as a man, a father and what does manhood mean? How do these views and attitudes shape your behaviour towards women, wives, daughters? Do you cause harm or do you protect?

The LGBTI community in society are faced with such violent hate from us. We reject our children who dress and love and act differently. We chase them from our homes, schools and churches to live lives on the streets unprotected.

We rape our lesbian daughters in the belief that we can cure them through this evil kind of violence. We beat our sons who identify more with womanhood as if being a woman is a lower form of being. What is this thing? We cannot survive such thinking anymore. Parenthood has been gifted to us by God and our role is to love and nurture. Not to be our children’s first bullies.

There is, as sure as my heart beats in my chest as evidence, a Lord God of Grace and Mercy who is crying for how we treat His sons and daughters. Let it not be up to us to judge while we are commanded in the most urgent way to LOVE one another as He loves us.

A Father’s duty is to make his home a place of happiness and joy. We are here not just with a message of peace, but with a message of gratitude. We are saying ‘thank you’ to Fathers who got up early every morning to go to work so we can have food on the table.

We say thank you to Fathers who have endured great obstacles so we can go to school and even fulfil our dreams. We are blessed with fathers who guided and directed us and even ensured we do not get out of line but stick with good values and the ability to always do the right thing. We have Fathers who taught us about God.

Our fathers taught us respect and to honour our heritage and traditions. Our fathers are the pillar that stands that we turn to even when we, ourselves, grow tall. We have fathers that simply made everything OK when it seemed our worlds are falling apart.

Today is but a small thank you to you and what you have meant to the women and children of this community. None of us are perfect and without fault. But we know we are all trying the best with what we have and the unshaking belief that God is there when we falter.

Let me share this poem with you

You may have thought I did not see

Or that I had not heard

Life lessons that you taught to me

But I got every word

Perhaps you thought I missed it all

And that we would grow apart

But Dad, I picked up everything

It is written on my heart

Without you, Dad, I would not be

The person I am today

You built a strong foundation

No one can take away

I have grown up with your values

And I am very glad I did

So here’s to you, dear Father

From your forever grateful child

God bless you, kealeboga

I thank you