DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2014.v02i04.005

Pages: 494-502

The African view of men as always strong and unflinching, accompanied by Feminist campaigns and views, has resulted in men suffering abuse in silence. Boys are the most affected victims as they cannot get help in situations where they are abused by the older female of society. Like their seniors, they cannot run to the law for protection or redress either, especially when they are taken advantage of by women sexually, because of the demands and expectations of society. Society expects men to be strong and persevere in face of challenges to prove their manhood. Feminists have managed to make the world see men as abusers who are never abused but are patriarchal in nature and approach, and that has made the world view men as monsters who deserve to be punished for having an upper hand over women. This article seeks to expose and discuss abusive instances in life in general in Africa where abuse, both physical and emotional, has been visited on men by women and argue that the way such events are viewed by African societies, and in some cases by feminists, constitute reverse abuse that the Feminist movement seeks to redress. It is being argued in this article that men have borne the brunt of psychological abuse by women for quite some time in African societies but of late physical abuse has been added. African societies have become oversensitive to abuse of women by men so much that a man being beaten up by a woman is seen as tasting his own medicine and such acts of violence are tolerated. Evidence will be taken from Zimbabwean newspaper-reports, which demonstrate how widespread instances of men abuse are but society is not treating them with the same urgency that women abuse by men is treated.