Why transforming masculinities matters: moving from theory to practice

When world leaders gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa this October for South Africa's G20 Ministerial Dialogue on the Positive Masculinities side event, they spoke of statistics, frameworks, patriarchy, and whole-of-society approaches. But for women like Julia Kasule*, the issues deliberated are not theory but realities that she has lived with from her late teens.

"I was trying on my wedding dress when I should have been studying for my exams," Kasule recalls as she shares her story with UN Women South Africa at the G20 Positive Masculinities engagement with traditional and faith leaders on 20 October 2025. She was 16, in the middle of her senior four examinations in Uganda. The groom was 30 years her senior, an archbishop who ran an orphanage - a white man, a religious leader, an elder that her community saw as a saviour who could lift their daughter from poverty.

As Deputy Minister Mmapaseka Steve Letsike told the G20 assembly gathered on 30 October in Johannesburg, "patriarchy is a human crisis, not merely a women's issue," the statement rings true, particularly when considering life experiences such as Julia's. The archbishop promised education and opportunity. Instead, immediately after their marriage, he moved her to South Africa and built walls around her world.

"He told me: ‘You can't go to school because there are boys there. You can't work because there are men there, and he completely isolated me at a time when I was far away from my family," says Kasule.

One of the issues that came up when discussing harmful social norms at the Ministerial Meeting was the issue of systematic rights violations in private places where women expect to be protected. In practice, for Julia this looked like abuse in many forms that lasted five years. She recollects how he would violate and humiliate her persistently and she felt she had nowhere to run to. “When I reported him to church authorities, nothing happened”, says Kasule. 

COVID-19 changed everything. Locked down with her abuser 24/7, Julia began to observe how her young son began to imitate his father’s behaviour. It was exactly what the G20 Education panel warned about: ‘Harmful masculinity patterns cementing before adolescence, passed from father to son like a poisonous inheritance’.

"I realized this wasn't the situation I wanted to be in five years from now. When he threatened divorce I decided this was my chance to finally escape this nightmare of many years," Julia says. At 22, alone in a foreign country with no job or family, she left and sought freedom.

In retaliation, her ex-husband used his resources to take custody of their son. "If he's able to sleep with teenagers, what will he do to my son?" Julia wonders aloud, voicing a fear that keeps her awake at night.

Today, at 28, Julia is working to build her life. She got her first job in the civil society space as a Communications Lead at the Black Women's Caucus when she was 26. The delayed entry into employment shows what UN Resident Coordinator Nelson Muffuh called the "poison of patriarchy" that destroys not just the safety of women but economic futures.

Meanwhile, the archbishop remains in his position, still preaching, still powerful. His continued authority exemplifies what Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga identified in her keynote: the gap between South Africa's robust legal frameworks and lived reality, where "violence is not episodic, but a learned and replicable system."

Left unresolved, the issue of patriarchy continues to fuel many social ills, including violence against women and girls. “Across countries, physical spaces or online contexts, the dominance of patriarchal masculinities is a common thread underlying the perpetration of GBV. · Achieving gender equality requires the full engagement of all segments of society, including men and boys as strategic partners and advocates for change. We must make visible the harms of dominant narratives of masculinity to boys and men and shine attention to the benefits of women’s empowerment and fostering men’s shared responsibility in caregiving and fatherhood.’ said Anna Mutavati, UN Women Regional Director for East & Southern Africa at the G20 Ministerial Meeting.

Kasule now uses her voice to join thousands of others demanding change. 

"I feel like I'm meant to be out there. Like my story is supposed to be heard. I'm supposed to be out there. I'm supposed to speak," Julia says, finding strength in her newfound voice. 

The G20 Ministers gathered in Johannesburg recognized that stories like Julia's demand transformation. Central to the G20's recommendations was engaging men and boys as active agents of change in promoting positive masculinities. Ministers emphasized that transforming harmful gender norms requires strengthening accountability mechanisms across all sectors, from religious institutions to judicial systems, to ensure perpetrators face consequences. These commitments reflect an understanding that while legal frameworks matter, implementation and accountability determine whether women like Julia receive justice.

There is evidence that addressing socio-economic challenges faced by women reduces their vulnerability and builds resilience against GBV. G20 Ministers widely supported the development of national care strategies by 2030, acknowledging the care economy as essential social and economic infrastructure. The dialogue emphasized closing the gender digital divide and expanding women's access to finance and entrepreneurship opportunities. 

Efforts to shift patriarchal masculinities are ultimately about changing the conditions that limit girls’ choices and challenging harmful social norms that create a society where young women set aside their aspirations because marriage is positioned as their only option.

* Not her real name