Wednesday, November 19, 2025, was International Men’s Day. This year’s theme is celebrating men and boys. In Uganda, Mr Mondo Kyateka, the assistant commissioner for youth and children’s affairs at the Ministry of Gender, labour and Social Development, said men should sire children they can afford to take care of, love, care, protect and nurture. This was while speaking at the inaugural Mwami Summit.
The Mwami Summit, which was organised by Reach Out Mbuya Community Health Initiative and Roses of Mbuya Social Enterprise, was under the theme: Empowering men as role models for stronger families and communities. While days such as Men’s Day usually go by unnoticed with very little fanfare, their significance shouldn’t be belittled. That is why initiatives such as the Mwami Summit and other such initiatives that have tailored projects in observance of such days must be applauded and, even better, supported to achieve bigger and better.
In a world where the sanctity and plight of the girl-child has been given much deserved attention while little or none is paid to the boy child, anything, initiative or otherwise that seeks to bridge the gaps created by imbalanced empowerment in the society is welcome. Josephine Kaleebi , the Reach Out Mbuya Community Health Initiative executive director said the summit was to celebrate men’s health, wellbeing and responsible masculinity and enable men and boys from Kampala’s underserved communities to engage in transformative dialogue, wellness screenings, mentorship, and skill building activities.
She said, ‘In many of our communities, men and boys face unique challenges, including mental health stigma, unemployment, lack of positive role models, and social pressures that perpetuate harmful masculinity norms.’ The summit reportedly creates a safe, empowering platform to promote emotional wellness and physical health, champion responsible and respectful fatherhood in relationships, foster mentorship and community leadership, and challenge and redefine traditional masculinity in positive ways.
While the patriarchal nature of our society might seemingly give boys and men an advantage over their female colleagues, it is wrong to neglect the former in regard to ensuring safe spaces for dialogue, mentorship, partnership and meaningful growth. Let us not trivialise this societal need to have whole, well-rounded men. Empowerment has no gender. Every member of society, regardless of their gender, deserves a chance at being adequately equipped to live to their full potential. Only then will they all be able to step up to serve those around them.