Fathering – The new story

On 29 October 2025, Heartlines, in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance hosted the Rethinking Fatherhood, Gender, and Masculinity in South Africa symposium.

Fathers Matter encourages men to play an active and positive role in their children’s lives by developing skills around caregiving and emotional presence. The new law about parental leave is an opportunity for fathers to do exactly that from the very beginning, creating space for both parents to share the work and the joy of raising a newborn.

No two generations of fathers raise their children in quite the same way. Andile’s experience shows that the next chapter of fatherhood is written by choosing how to carry the good parts of the past forward while changing the parts that caused harm.

To every parent raising a child with a disability: You’re not behind. You’re not cursed. You’re not alone. You’re raising a masterpiece, one who might look different, sound different and move differently, but who who carries divine purpose in every breath.

The question of celebrating young girls without sidelining boys is a hot topic. And it deserves real thought, because the last thing we want is to solve one problem by creating another.

Lutho’s story reminds us that fatherhood is not always soft, and love is not always easy to recognise. But even in the cracks, even in the hard edges, there is something to be learned.