There is a widespread understanding amongst the public on the distress of the men in general and married men in particular. The sustained campaign by the members of AIMWA and SIF through media and by direct interaction has created awareness on the plight of men in India on account of the blatantly anti-male biased laws.

Here are the Press releases in Tamil and English:

Bike and car rallies are being conducted in all major cities in India to reach out to the public and encourage them to celebrate this day. In Pune, a bike rally will start from Shaniwarwada at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at District Court, Shivaji Nagar around 12:00 noon.

Similar rallies and meetings have been arranged at all major cities of India.

We will be posting the press releases, write-ups and photos of all events that take place in connection with the International Men’s Day throughout India. Please stand by.

Message for everyone on International Men’s Day

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

The above is a quote of Henry David Thoreau, who observed that most men are enslaved to their work and to those for whom they work. True to his words, everyday,

• Men protect and provide for families.
• Men render many services that make the society comfortable for everyone.
• Men make many contributions to science, technology and health of all.
• Men perform the most dangerous and difficult jobs in the world.
• Men take risks and die to save other lives during calamities and war.

Every day and everywhere, as we are busy idolizing movie stars, athletes and other celebrities as role models, the common men around us – the academic achievers, social leaders, champions of the environment, artists, comedians, soldiers, farmers, fishermen, fire fighters, and those more humble males who, on a daily basis, clean our streets, build our houses, fix our vehicles, police our streets, deliver newspapers and milk, and care for children – dedicate themselves to their work and continue to serve everyone.

On International Men’s Day, here is our message to all men:

CELEBRATE BEING MALE!
Tell your story and sing your song!
We will listen, cheer, remember and support you.

On International Men’s Day, we call upon all men and women to recognize and honor men for the numerous services they render and the innumerable sacrifices they make for the health and well-being of our families and society.

We call upon everyone to celebrate the men in our lives – our fathers, brothers, partners, sons, male friends, neighbors and colleagues.

We urge everyone to -

SAY “NO” TO MALE BASHING!
SAY “NO” TO STEROTYPING OF MEN!
REALIZE MAN IS NOT AN ATM!
STOP TREATING MEN AS UNPAID BODYGUARDS!
STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN!
UNDERSTAND MEN TOO NEED LOVE AND CARE!
UNDERSTAND MEN TOO NEED PROTECTION!
DEMAND TRUE GENDER EQUALITY!
DEMAND GENDER-NEUTRAL LAWS!
DEMAND MEN’S WELFARE MINISTRY!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY!!!

The book in PDF (eBook) form can be downloaded from International Men’s Day web page.

The handbook has been compiled and edited assiduously Mr.Atit Rajpara and various other men’s rights activists belonging to the renowned NGO movement viz: “Save Indian Family”. It exposes the deep-rooted malady of misandry in our society and the laws and attitudes that are pronouncedly biased against men.

You can have a walk-through of the booklet here:

Demanding the arrest of Rakhi Sawant in connection with the recent controversy on her TV show, a group of male activists from the Indian Family Foundation (IFF) came together on International Men’s day on Friday, raised the grievances of men and spoke about the alleged misuse of women-centric laws in the country.

“If a woman was called impotent on national TV, we are sure that the National Commission for Women would have ensured that the male host was behind the bars,” says Bunty Jain, vice-president, IFF. “We are not against women but we are looking for gender neutrality in the country,” says Jain.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in the last 12 years, 1,70,000 married men have committed suicide due to domestic violence. Reflecting upon the rising figures of suicide rates among Indian husbands, the IFF questioned this bias and demanded separate machinery to record complaints by men under cognisable offences.

Together, we can change things for the better!

INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY – 2010

All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA)

International Men’s Day (IMD) is celebrated on 19th November the world over.

This year, on the occasion of IMD, AIMWA is felicitating three positive male role models namely, Dr. Viswanath Gogte, Sri. A.V. Gurunadh and Sri. Gangadhara Sastry for their extraordinary contributions to academic, civic and spiritual education, respectively. (Click here for invitation!)

Why celebrate Men’s Day?

In the recent years, it has become common practice to neglect, ill-treat and demean men in the society. Male bashing (both physical and verbal) and portrayal of men as villains, idiots and inferior creatures is seen as an innocuous way of increasing profits of media houses and other businesses. Discrimination of men under law and violation of their human rights have become synonymous with empowering and protecting women.

Undermining the positive contributions of majority of men and exaggerating the misdeeds of a few has serious impact on the psyche of men and the self-image of young men and boys. Discrimination against men in areas of social services, social attitudes, social expectations and law is very demoralizing to the common men who lead decent, honest lives.

International men’s day is about celebrating and honoring men in our lives for all the contributions, services and sacrifices they make for the well-being of the family and society. It is an opportunity to revive respect towards men and improve gender relations. It is an occasion to promote positive male role models, to reinforce the self-esteem and pride of young men and boys about being male. It is a day to remind everyone of the fact that men are human too and that they desire and deserve love, care and respect just as much as women do.

In an attempt to shed light on the various issues affecting men, All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA) is organizing a conference where experts in various fields will share their observations and recommendations. (See invitation for details!)

* Physical Health of men – Dr. Sudhir, BHMS, Kakinada

The National Family Health Survey does not consider men’s health important – enormous focus on women and children, and the mention of men only in relation to how they should contribute to the health and welfare of women and children, clearly indicates the apathy of the Government towards men’s health. No funds are allocated to conduct research on or develop remedies for diseases specific to men such as prostate or testicular cancers. Since men define their lives largely by their professions and protecting and providing for their families, they tend to ignore illnesses, lead less healthy lifestyles than women, miss getting medical attention in time, and as other stresses in life increase, the diseases catch up with them. Men are more likely to die from heart disease, prostate cancer, stroke, infectious diseases, accidents and suicide. Males have a higher overall mortality rate than females at all ages (roughly 1.6 times greater). It is necessary to understand the genetic, environmental or age related illnesses which can affect men, and provide them with insurance to get the right kind of medical attention at the appropriate time.

Men as protectors – Sri. A.B. Pratap Reddy, A.P. Police Department, Hyderabad

Men as individuals and as a group are expected to protect not just their own respective families, but also, all women and children in the society. Right from the age of 7, a boy is trained to be an “unpaid bodyguard” to girls and women. Accordingly, anytime a girl or woman is in distress, one always sees men rushing to her rescue. The fire department, police, armed forces and all other security forces are filled with men. Even in forces where women are recruited, combat and other risky operations are considered the exclusive job of men. The country pays tributes once a year to all the fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country. We also need to remember that the so-called protector too needs certain kinds of protection and support in order to perform his job efficiently on a daily basis. Government should pay close attention to improving working conditions, salaries, housing and professional development opportunities for men in uniform.

Men as providers – Sri. Manoj David, President, National Litigant Bench, Chennai

Men and boys are always expected to be and conditioned to become protectors and providers. Even though more women are entering the job market and defying their traditional roles within the family and the society, resulting in reduced employment opportunities for men, the society refuses to free men of their traditional duties of protecting and providing for women, children and the aged. Men who cannot provide for the family are considered incapable, unmanly and unfit for marriage and having children. So, men often undertake some of the most risky and challenging jobs in the society and put their lives at stake just to be a provider. Financial hardships drive thousands of farmers, artisans and providers of crucial services to commit suicide. Treating men as ATMs and expendable commodities is nothing but abuse of their human rights, which must be opposed by individuals, society and Government.

Emotional Health of men – Dr. Praveen Chinta, MBBS, DPM, MRCP, Hyderabad

Boys are discouraged from expressing their pain and feelings from the age of 7-8 yrs. This leads to fear of self-expression and even numbness to abuse for the rest of their lives. Men find emotional confrontations extremely painful when they grow up as they are no longer good at articulating their emotions. A lot of men take refuge in addictions like smoking or drinking to combat stress. Most men enduring emotional turmoil in marriage contemplate suicide and a substantial percentage of them (around 56,000 a year) actually commit suicide. Twice as many married men, compared to married women, commit suicide every year. Scientific research is necessary to understand the emotional health issues of men, especially the Indian male. There is a need for psychiatrists and psychologists to specifically focus on issues pertaining to men.

Men in old age – Smt. Kamakshi, Secy. Senior Citizens Forum, Hyderabad

While men in the “productive” age bracket are subject to the pressures of professional competition, family issues and financial problems, one expects that they would be relatively stress-free during their post-retirement years. However, due to the breakdown of the joint family system, and the advent of nuclear family and individualistic culture, more and more aged men are suffering from anxiety, loneliness, financial hardships and despair. Many aged men also suffer neglect and abuse in their homes, but they appear to be better adjusted than women in similar situations, because men in general are not expressive about their emotions. Overemphasis on professional and family responsibilities at the expense of their own health, and the ensuing stress could be the reasons why life expectancy of men is much lesser than that of women. As the physical and emotional health of aged men depends, to a large extent, on their lifestyles during their younger years, men need to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that they are more resilient and capable of coping with the challenges posed by age and age-related diseases and disabilities.

Men and anti-male laws – Smt. Rama Subhadra, Mahila Satta Legal Cell, Hyderabad

Many laws have been made in the last 60 years in the name of protecting women within and outside the home. These so-called pro-women laws such as IPC Section 498A, Domestic Violence Act, adultery laws, laws against rape and sexual harassment and family laws (divorce, maintenance and child custody) aggravate problems rather than mitigate them. These discriminatory laws are anti-male and anti-family, and serve as weapons that promote family destruction and large scale human rights abuses against men, women and children. They are tools of blackmail and extortion in the hands of unscrupulous women, law enforcement personnel, lawyers and judiciary. There is an urgent need to eliminate discrimination against men under law, make all civil and criminal laws equally applicable to men and women, and also to ensure that strict penalties are imposed on those who misuse the laws.

Respecting male sexuality – Smt. Uma Challa, President, All India Men’s Welfare Association, Hyderabad

Sexual arousal is easily 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 also believed that men always indulge in sex voluntarily, whereas women are thought to take part in sex either to fulfill the sexual or emotional needs of men or because they are forced to do so by men against their will. Male sexuality is often attacked to break a man down emotionally. Sexual exploitation and rape of men/boys by women is not acknowledged as an offense, and in fact it is considered as a non-existent problem. Today, male sexuality is ridiculed, insulted, misunderstood, undermined, disregarded, criminalized and everything but respected. Proper awareness on male sexuality is very important for both men and women. Provisions and laws for protection against sexual assault and abuse are as necessary for men as they are for women.

Men want their day, talk equality.

International Men’s Day, though yet to get official recognition from the United Nations, is slowly getting more votaries in its favour in India.

Sports icon and Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra feels it’s a good idea, “not just to have another Day but if it is to deal with specific problems of men. Why not?”

Everybody has issues; men too have issues that are specific to them and we must be “sensitive to those”, he added.

Celebrated on different days in different parts of the world, it was the then Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev who first called for an international day to celebrate men in 1999 at the UN in Vienna.

In India, NGOs like Save Indian Family Foundation that advocate the cause of men — on a range of issues like false dowry claims, domestic violence, sexual harassment and torture — want to build international consensus for November 19 to be International Men’s Day.

Fashion designer Rohit Bal is all for it. “Men always get a raw deal, particularly in times of segregation and divorce. Custody of children go to women. I think, in any country, both sexes need to be treated equally.” He added: “This is not a demographic problem but a human problem. We should definitely have an International Men’s Day.”

Fashion designer Jattinn Kochhar said: “The Indian government should establish an International Men’s Day though the day and date could be decided. I will give it full support.”

“On the one hand, we talk of women’s empowerment which is very good. But then a small percentage of men get slaughtered as the government, police and law are with women,” he added.

This year, the day coincides with International Philosophy Day. Head of the department of philosophy at Hindu College, Devasia M. Antony, said: “An interesting but (un)welcome coincidence, one may think so! A glance at philosophical writings show most philosophers were and are men. A case of clear gender bias indeed! One hopes the emergence of more women philosophers would radically alter the way philosophy is taught and practiced.”

UN Information Centre director Shalini Dewan said: “As far as the UN is concerned, men were not the discriminated gender.”