Since my father passed away in October 2000, I have been researching fatherlessness and its impact on families, particularly on children. In the past eight years I have come across a wide range of sad tales of people such as myself living without their fathers and their struggle to overcome their father hunger.
Some researchers indicate that children who grow up without fathers are most likely to be less successful in life by almost every measure than children growing up with both parents.
On June 15 South Africa celebrates Father’s Day, showing appreciation of the sacrifices fathers make and the roles they play in shaping lives. Unfortunately, to many people across the globe this day bears no real meaning, simply because they live without their fathers.
Between 1960 and 1990 the percentage of children living without their biological fathers across the globe rose from 17% to 36%. It is estimated that, 20 years from now, nearly 50% of children will live without their fathers. In South Africa the figure is 60%.
In South Africa fatherlessness has been increased by political, social and economic factors. During apartheid many people were displaced from their communities and some were forced into exile. The displacement of such fathers led to the destruction of the family. My father migrated from poverty-stricken then Transkei to the Eastern Transvaal. He never returned and started new families elsewhere.
Recently fatherlessness has been compounded by rising numbers of Aids-related deaths.
Statistics South Africa estimates that the number of adult deaths in South Africa increased by 62% between 1997 and 2003, of which 53% were male. Among the black population about 48% of all children now live without their fathers.
Many have lost their fathers through divorce and marital breakdown and, as a report by Princeton University indicates, divorce rates are increasing. A surprising finding is that it is worse for a child to lose a father in this way than through death.
It is worth remembering on Father’s Day that many families are enduring the hardship of living without one.
Zama Mvulane is a political adviser to the chief whip of the National Council of Provinces. This is an edited extract from his forthcoming book Longing for My Father