AIMWA Charter

Charter of All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA)

(AIMWA) is an organization whose main objectives are:

• To connect with men and boys across India and understand their needs and concerns.
• To address issues concerning men and boys, with the specific objective of providing them protection against gender discrimination, domestic violence, emotional castration, negative stereotyping, sexual harassment, legal terrorism and every other form of abuse.
• To build a powerful broad based lobby for the welfare of men and boys.

All India Men’s Welfare Association  connects  boys and men from all sections of the society irrespective of their caste, creed, community, religion, region or political affiliations, and works towards a common goal of democratic, social justice where there will be no place for gender discrimination and demeaning of men and boys.

Anyone with a sincere interest in men’s and boy’s issues is welcome to become part of this community. In addition, we welcome those who:

• Understand vote bank politics but do not believe that political correctness, in and of itself, is a good thing and aim to be as apolitical as possible.
• Support the many issues concerning men, including health, judicial and social.
• Encourage all men and boys, regardless of their religion, caste, language or region, to work together to improve men’s lives and dignity.

Rationale behind formation of AIMWA

Men and boys are always expected to be and conditioned to become protectors and providers, and also routinely portrayed as

• Oppressors, aggressors, wife-beaters, dowry-seekers, bride-burners, sexual perverts, pimps, cheats, criminals, murderers, rapists, drug-peddlers, terrorists, etc. who ought to be restrained through inhuman, draconian laws;
• Idiots, pathetic, uncouth and inferior creatures who are constantly in need of rescue by their “superior” wives, girlfriends or female relatives who are set to overhaul them;

In addition,

The society considers kicking, punching and slapping men as acceptable and even laudable behaviour on the part of women and girls.

The society considers boys and men as an expendable commodity at the time of crises.

The society forces men to take the last place in the queue for rescue in case of calamities.

The society characterizes men as reckless, irresponsible and incapable of taking care of themselves or their children.

The society is rapidly replacing men with women, machines and sperm banks and treating men as a disposable species.

In addition to stereotyping of men and boys, welfare of boys and men has been seriously neglected in India, post-independence. Men are denied protection from domestic abuse, sexual harassment, social discrimination and also equal access to Government sponsored health care and safety at work place.

Domestic Violence against Men

• More than 90% of Indian men face emotional, economical, verbal and physical abuse at the hands of their wives and in-laws.
• While research worldwide shows that women and men assault each other with roughly equal frequency, the Domestic Violence Act does not confer any protection to men.  On the contrary, it provides immunity to abusive women and facilitates misuse of the law by women to punish innocent men.
• Men are usually reluctant to call the police in a domestic dispute for the fear of being ridiculed or discredited. There is also a well-founded fear that police will arrest the man even when it is the woman who committed the assault.
• Men are subjected to third degree methods at police stations in domestic issues to the extent that the DGP of Tamil Nadu had to order that no weapons including lathis/physical force be used while handling such cases.

Workplace Discrimination

• Preferential treatment is afforded to women at the cost of men, either out of sympathy or fear.
• Women are not held to the same standards of excellence in a lot of demanding and high-risk jobs. Most men take up risky and difficult jobs as a means to provide for their families, whereas, women have begun entering risky professions for glory and are being accorded special treatment in the name of women’s empowerment.
• It is acceptable for women to ridicule and abuse men at the workplace with impunity.
• The gender biased law enacted by the Supreme Court in the Vishaka case on sexual harassment and violence at workplace has caused immense harm to the morale of men and has created distrust among co-workers.
• Men are especially suspect under these government or corporate policies, which tend to favour women.
• An offhand comment or misunderstood gesture can now cost a man his job, ruin his career and land him in jail.
• As in other areas like divorce or domestic violence, a man has little or no recourse in defending himself in such cases.

Sexual exploitation

• Sexual arousal is discernible in men, whereas it is not obvious in women. As a result, men constantly face the allegation of being obsessed with sex.
• It is believed that men always indulge in sex voluntarily, whereas women are thought to take part in sex either to fulfil the sexual or emotional needs of men or because they are forced to do so by men against their will.
• Sexual exploitation and rape of men and boys by women is not acknowledged as an offence, and in fact it is considered as a non-existent problem.
• Boys and men are coerced or enticed into having sex both within and outside marriage.
• Boys and men are blackmailed into having sex within and outside marriage.
• Boys and men face allegations of rape or threats by women who indulge in consensual sex only with the intention of forcing men into marrying them, to extort money and other ulterior motives.
• Married men also face abuse from wives who withhold sex as a means to blackmail, take revenge, or to attain other ulterior objectives.
• No legal provisions exist to protect men and boys from molestation, rape or any of the above mentioned forms of sexual exploitation.

Health and safety

Men’s health and safety are not given any attention in the society or in Government policies. The National Family Health Survey does not consider men’s health as an important issue and makes a mention of men only in the context of how they are responsible for the health and well-being of women and children.

Men are more likely to die from heart disease, prostate cancer, stroke, infectious diseases, accidents, suicide, and homicide.

Males have a higher overall mortality rate than females at all ages (roughly 1.6 times greater). Also, men have higher mortality rates for the top 10 causes of death.

Men represent more than 80% deaths due to workplace hazards, road accidents, terrorism, manslaughter etc., annually as a result of being concentrated in the most hazardous professions.

Men have a life expectancy roughly 6 years less than women.

Additionally, men are emotionally castrated right from the age of 6 as they are discouraged from expressing their pain and feelings. Emotional suppression has a traumatic effect on boys and the hurt is so deep that boys develop a fear of self-expression and turn numb to abuse for the rest of their life.

Men find emotional confrontations extremely painful when they grow up. Most men enduring emotional turmoil in marriage contemplate suicide and a substantial percentage of them actually commit suicide. According to the National Crime Records Bureau:

• 2005: 52583 married men committed suicide as compared to 28188 married women.
• 2006: 55452 married men committed suicide as compared to 29869 married women.
• 2007: 57593 married men committed suicide as compared to 30064 married women.

Other forms of discrimination faced by men

• Men pay more taxes than women at the same income level.
• Men are provided no protection against sexual harassment at workplace and against rape and seduction.
• Men do not have the choice of vocation. They are expected to subordinate their preferences to the needs of others in the family.
• Men are reduced to the role of a robot and treated as the eternal protector and provider with no desires of their own.
• Men are not provided with a free and un-choked communication channel – a channel that listens to them without invalidating their feelings or ignoring or trivialising their problems.
• No schemes are being furthered either by the Government or eminent social celebrities for boys the way they are happening for girls. This has led to more boys dropping out of school resulting in increase of juvenile delinquency. Shunned by the society, such boys grow up with feelings of inadequacy and could ultimately turn into criminals.
• There is no concept of men’s rights, but men are overburdened with responsibilities and duties.

Unless provisions are made to protect boys and men from discrimination and violence, and unless steps are taken to ensure their welfare, we will witness serious deterioration in the health conditions of men in the country, and the number of suicides by men (which is currently more than double that of women) is going to keep growing at an alarming rate.

AIMWA strongly believes that domestic harmony will prevail only when women AND men are ensured their rightful, honourable place within and outside the home. In addition, when we ensure true gender equality under law, litigations will reduce, legal terrorism and extortion through misuse of the law will be eliminated, and our human and financial resources can be employed for betterment of the society and the country.

Principles of AIMWA

We recognize and affirm:

• The existence of natural differences as well as the biological and chemical attraction between the genders.
• The necessity of cooperation between the genders, and at the same time the inevitability of conflicts of interest between them.
• The scientific inconsistency and dubious morality of any claim by one gender to describe the state, condition, needs, experiences, or the value of the other gender.
• We reject all patriarchal beliefs of men and women which attribute traits of low esteem, self pity, vagrancy, vulnerability and helplessness to women as a group, and presumptions that ALL women are inherently incapable of committing harassment, violence and crimes.
• We also reject patriarchal attitudes which impose and enforce duties and responsibilities on men, and indulge women with irrational protection and privileges.
• The importance of family for the well-being of men, and at the same time, the need to redefine roles for men and boys considering the fact that women have transcended their traditional roles and barriers within the family.

We seek to work towards:

• Protecting the constitutional and human rights of boys and men.
• Ensuring that welfare of boys and men is taken up as an important priority in the formulation of national policies and legislations.
• Providing equal protection for boys and men as compared to women from all forms of abuse – verbal, economic, emotional, physical, sexual and legal harassment – within and outside the home.
• Ensuring that all civil and criminal laws are made equally applicable to men and women.
• The promotion of the essential value of masculinity, specifically with regard to personal dignity and the irreplaceable role of the male gender in every area of life, spiritual, cultural and material, for the benefit of present and future generations.
• The identification and condemnation of any instance of male bashing – the denigration and demonization of men, the denigration of male sentiments, attributes, opinions and needs, the denigration of male contributions and behaviour – in the media, literature, the arts, political discourse, historiography, scientific tracts, textbooks, advertising, in every other context and in every form or style of expression and means of communication, open or veiled.
• The restitution of the value and dignity of past generations of men, by means of the deconstruction of feminist historiography.

We are totally against the cultural ideals of a Feminist Society and its basic values, and therefore against the following:

• The principle of the moral, aesthetic and intellectual superiority of the female gender;
• Propagation of anti-male attitudes as women’s empowerment;
• The criminalization of the male gender both direct and indirect;
• The planned inhibition of the development of male consciousness;
• The psychological and chemical emasculation of the men and boys;
• The use and misuse of the male libido for purposes of manipulation, intimidation and blackmail;
• The demand for reparations, material and moral, for the wrongs, real or imagined, sustained by the female gender;
• State intrusion into adult sexual relations;
• Autocratic imposition of behavioural rules upon the male gender.

Goals of AIMWA

Our main goal is to advocating legislative and judicial guidelines to restore true gender equality for everyone’s sake. To this end, we will focus on

• Conducting research on issues faced by men, evaluating the status of physical and mental health of men, and the need for social changes, policy reforms and legal solutions to address men’s problems and issues.
• Educating members of the public, media, law enforcement, judiciary, lawyers, politicians, teachers, health practitioners and other stakeholders on the positive impact that making these reforms will have on health and welfare of men, women and children of India.
• Heightening public awareness on the facts about discrimination, domestic violence and other forms of abuse against boys and men, and how to effectively prevent it.
• Supporting boys and men who are victims of discrimination, domestic violence, or any other form of abuse.
• Striving for gender equality and to remove gender bias in the society as well as legislature.
• Stopping the onslaught of radical feminism supported through International Funding Agencies.
• Addressing issues related to violation of Human Rights and working actively with Human Right Organizations for the upholding and protecting Human Rights of boys and men.
• Ending the gender war stoked by feminists and other anti-male forces and ensuring harmony between men and women.
• Constitution of Government welfare boards for “specifically oppressed class” of men including policemen, sea-faring fishermen, construction labourers, farm labourers, fire-fighters, auto/bus/taxi drivers, street hawkers, mining labourers, scavengers, janitors, etc. and to address health, safety, economic and other needs relevant to their respective occupations.
• Creating choices for men and boys irrespective of social stereotypes, traditional expectations, cultural pressures, and freeing men from pre-conceived duties and responsibilities imposed on them by the society.

Means to achieve the above goals

I. Seeking amendments to Constitution of India

• Substitute the references to men or women with the term “person” and references to wife or husband with the term “spouse” in all the existing legislations.
• Abolish all anti-male and gender biased laws and make all laws gender-neutral.
• Amend Article 51(E) of the Constitution of India to protect the modesty of men too.
• Amend Article 15(3) of the Constitution of India to eliminate the special provision exempting women from punishment for crimes committed by them.

II. Changes in laws

• Distinguish between rape, molestation and relationship cheating and make penal provisions equally applicable to men and women.
• Make statutory rape law (IPC 376) equally applicable in cases where women have consensual sex with minor boys.
• Decriminalise the institution of marriage.
• Amend CrPC Table 1 to make IPC 498A non-cognisable and bailable.
• Amend Sec. 31(B) of D.V. Act to remove the provision that makes the sole testimony of women enough to send men to jail.
• Amend IPC 304-B to make the suicide of men within 7 years of marriage also punishable as presumptive murder by wife.
• Amend IPC 497 “Adultery Law” to punish women also for committing adultery.
• Abolish draconian multiple maintenance provisions for women under CrPC 125, Divorce laws, DV Act, HAM Act etc.
• Recognise the husband’s role as a parent and grant him equal custody of his children in case of divorce.

III. Social Welfare measures for men

• Scarp the court-enacted Vishaka Law and, in its place, enact a fresh legislation with due process and presumption of innocence to address the issue of workplace discords realistically without bias.
• Immediately form a National Commission for Men to study the issues that men face and bring forth comprehensive recommendations for ensuring equality and addressing of men’s grievances.
• Institute Men’s Welfare Ministry that will implement the recommendations of the National Commission for Men on behalf of the Government and also attend to the welfare of men on a regular basis
• Rationalize tax provisions to make them gender-neutral.
• Form welfare schemes for boys and girls equitably.
• Form an ombudsman to regulate the anti-male slant and negative stereotyping indulged in by media, television and films against men.
• Ensure that men are not forced to don the role of the sole breadwinner against their wish and give them a right to choose their way of life.
• Address health issues of men like prostate cancer, short life expectancy, high suicide rates, cardiac problems, diabetes, alcoholism etc with seriousness.
• Fund research specifically targeting diseases affecting men in large numbers like heart attack, hypertension and prostate cancer.
• Urge the World Economic Forum to recognize men as human beings, to conduct a study and publish a Gender Index of Men similar to that of women.
• Provide Government shelters for destitute and abandoned men and boys.
• Reduce retirement age for men to 55 in both public and private sector to stop exploitation of aged men and also to ensure guaranteed employment for younger and able men.
• Prohibition should be implemented in full. Ban unethical revenue generated by Government sponsored liquor shops which are responsible for health problems and financial exploitation of men.

Measurable goals of AIMWA to be achieved in the next 5 years

1. To expand its presence into 15 states by the end of 2010 and into 25 states by the end of 2011.
2. To create a vote bank of 5 crores comprising of individuals supporting AIMWA’s agenda.
3. To ensure amendment of all anti-male laws into gender neutral laws.
4. To ensure the establishment of a Men’s Welfare Ministry.
5. To ensure that ordering shared parenting becomes a required practice in the Family Court System.
6. To ensure that a “misuse clause” is inserted in all laws and punishment is defined and enforced in such a way that it will deter filing of false cases.
7. To conduct a survey on social status, health and wellness of men, and violence and abuse inflicted on men owing to deep-rooted misandry.
8. To stop all commercials, news articles, and any other medium that indulges in negative portrayal and stereotyping of men and boys in the media.
9. To ensure that International Men’s Day is declared as a National Celebration and Holiday in all Parliamentary Constituencies.

10.  To ensure implementation of Right to Education Act so as to provide free education to all boys under the age of 18, through nationalization of all private educational institutions.

Affiliates

While striving to achieve the above mentioned goals, AIMWA will associate with National and International Organizations which share any or all of the goals of AIMWA. In essence, AIMWA will have issue based affiliation with any of the organizations that have an overlapping agenda.fwe