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.

Faced with rising opposition to laws protecting women, women’s organisations are gearing up to launch an awareness campaign on growing violence against women and young girls in the state and the need for such laws.

“We will expose the concerted efforts of individuals and organisations to water down laws that have been made for the protection of women such as Domestic Violence Act and 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty),” All India Democratic Women’s Association state treasurer B. Jhansi Rani said.

She said on Human Rights Day (December 10) her organisation would present memoranda to chief justices of high courts across the country regarding the denial of justice to women victims.

According to state crime record bureau data, 163 dowry-related deaths have been reported in TN till October. While 1,198 cases were registered under IPC section 498-A, 169 were reported under the dowry prohibition Act.

All India Men’s Welfare Association on World Men’s Day held a rally claiming that they were victims of `biased’ laws that support only women. They demanded amending the Constitution (Article 51E) to uphold the dignity of men and amending IPC 497 dealing with adultery.

Terming their demands as absurd, CPI (M) legislative party leader K. Balabharathi said these organisations were basically against giving equal rights to women and attempting to reverse the progress achieved in bringing special Acts to protect women.

These Acts were passed in Parliament dominated by men, after discussions. There is no point demanding the repeal of such Acts now, she said, and demanded a ban on organisations against women’s rights. two-sides According to state crime record bureau data, 163 dowry related deaths have been reported in TN till October.

All India Men’s Welfare Association on World Men’s Day held a rally claiming that they were victims of ‘biased’ laws that support only women.

Here is a misreporting on the last line. It is not “laws that support only women” that AIMWA is against but laws that are against men. A law that is pro-women need not be anti-male. But in the case of impugned laws viz: Sec 498A, D.V.Act etc, they are blatantly detrimental to men and in the process cause havoc to the lives of women too.

But the agenda of AIMWA is not confined to fighting against such biased laws but has a wider mosaic to cover the welfare of young boys whose future is under threat from various nefarious forces.

But what one wonders is why the commie feminists running AIDWA get flustered when men join together for the welfare of the society!

These feminists who cry from housetops about women’s right are very eloquently silent about the allegations of sexual harassment against P.J.Joseph, a minister in Kerala cabinet headed by Communist Party (Marxist). The complainant, a T.V.anchor Lakshmi Gopakumar still insists that the allegations are true.

And AIDWA is sure to have a responsibility to explain their stand to the people in the matter of a Sri Lankan woman’s complaint of sexual harassment and cheating against a senior Communist Party leader Mr. C. Mahendran.

(Reproduced from ON LINE opinion – Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate)

“Each night when she came from work I would be tense and nervous. I didn’t know in what way she was going to abuse me.” This is Matthew’s story: the tale of a man who was regularly abused by his female partner in his own home. Contrary to general wisdom, such stories are commonplace across Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 435,000 men have experienced violence from their current or previous partner since the age of 15.

Male victims of family violence – perhaps even more so than women – often face barriers to disclosing their abuse. They are likely to be told that there must be something they did to provoke their partner’s violence. They can suffer shame, embarrassment and the social stigma of not being able to protect themselves. They can feel uncertain about where to seek help, or how to seek help.

Alan, another male victim, finally summoned up the courage to talk to someone about his partner’s ongoing sexual abuse. “Who to talk to for advice – family or friends? No way. I looked up the Yellow Pages. The voice answering the phone at the Rape Crisis Centre said, ‘Only women are abused’. I spoke to a doctor. She seemed to listen to my stammering for a few minutes and then while scribbling asked, ‘What are you doing to make her behave that way?’.”

Abuse of men takes many of the same forms as abuse of women – physical violence, intimidation and threats; sexual, emotional, psychological, verbal and financial abuse; property damage, harming pets, and social isolation. Men, more so than women, can also experience legal and administrative abuse – the use of institutions to inflict further abuse on a victim, for example, taking out false restraining orders or not allowing the victim access to his children.

George experienced this type of abuse. “My wife would not let me see the kids. She accused me of sexually molesting my daughter. I was devastated. I didn’t see my kids for ages. After a Court hearing which lasted ten days, the judge found that my ex-wife herself had molested my daughter in an effort to generate evidence against me. Despite this, she was still allowed custody. And the Court and the child welfare agency refused to take any action against her.”

Dr Elizabeth Celi, a Melbourne psychologist says, “Unlike physical violence, many of the forms of domestic abuse faced by male victims are difficult to detect and hard for the man himself to defend against. A man’s health is wrapped up in his identity. Attacking his self-worth through various forms of criticism, manipulation and intimidation are forms of emotional and verbal violence that we need to learn about as a society and say ‘Enough!’”

As well as the effects of violence on men, their children can suffer the same impacts as do children of female victims. These include witnessing family violence by their parents or step-parents, experiencing direct violence and abuse themselves, and suffering a range of negative impacts on their behavioural, cognitive and emotional functioning and social development. Neglecting violence against men means neglecting these children.

There are many misunderstandings about male victims of family violence. Some argue that men aren’t affected as badly as women. Others argue that female violence is usually carried out in self-defence. Yet others assert that women’s violence isn’t part of an overall pattern of control and domination. An extensive review of Australian and international research finds little evidence to support these claims.

This November 19 was International Men’s Day. As part of the day’s celebrations, a new campaign and website for male victims of family violence was launched. The One in Three Campaign is named after the little known fact that up to one in three victims of sexual assault and at least one in three victims of family violence is male (perhaps as many as one in two). All authoritative sources support this figure. For example, researcher Murray Straus conducted an extensive study of partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations and found that, in Australia, 14 per cent of physical violence between dating partners during the previous 12 months was perpetrated by males only, 21 per cent by females only and 64.9 per cent was mutual violence.

The One in Three Campaign aims to raise public awareness of the existence and needs of male victims of family violence; to work with government and non-government services alike to provide assistance to male victims; and to reduce the incidence and impacts of family violence on Australian men, women and children. Supporters of the campaign include Dr Celi, Maggie Hamilton, author of What Men Don’t Talk About and Steve Biddulph, author of The Secret of Happy Children.

Hamilton says, “Until researching What Men Don’t Talk About I had no idea about domestic violence towards men. In speaking about it with friends I was then shocked to discover this had touched the lives of several close friends. These were men of all backgrounds – from manual labourers to professional men. In some cases the violence was inter-generational. While we remain silent on this issue, men continue to be hurt, to be ignored. Once we believed only little girls were subject to sexual abuse, and so countless boys were abused. The same is now true of men.”

Biddulph writes, “With family violence, we had to address ‘women and children first’; but in 2009, the troubling, gritty nub of violence is in families where both partners are violent, as well as those most hidden, where women hit men. Today nobody approves of or accepts wife bashing. Husband bashing needs this same condemnation and action, because everyone needs help to live in safety, and women and men equally need programs to steer them to safer ways of living in families. Violence is a miserable way to live, for perpetrator and victim, and for little children forced to watch. Solving violence against husbands can close the loop on eradicating violence from our wider society.”

While many services have quite rightly been established over the past three decades to support female victims of family violence, the needs of male victims remain largely unmet. Acknowledging this imbalance, the Western Australian Men’s Advisory Network (MAN) recently commissioned ground-breaking research by Edith Cowan University (ECU) into the nature and extent of domestic abuse against men.

Executive officer Gary Bryant stresses that MAN recognises that the majority of family and domestic violence is against women and that it is not seeking to divert funding from support for female abuse victims. “The aim of this study is to help paint a clear picture of what constitutes abuse, what might prevent men from reporting it and what is needed to support male victims.” The ECU study will be released in the first half of 2010.

Greg Millan, director of Men’s Health Services in Newcastle, was recently contacted by a domestic violence agency worker who had decided that it was time to start providing support for men as well as women. She had witnessed growing numbers of male victims appearing in court without any services to assist them. Greg subsequently developed and successfully runs a training program called Working with Men affected by Violence, for workers in the domestic violence and family relationship sector.

On the international front, more than 15 years ago the Valley Oasis shelter in Lancaster, California, became the first in the USA to give refuge to victims regardless of their gender. “Our philosophy is that domestic violence is a societal problem,” said Carol Ensign, the shelter’s executive director. “Nobody deserves to get hit, whether they are 2 months old or 80 years old, whether they are a man or woman, child or teen. Nobody deserves violence in their lives.”

A groundbreaking Dutch scheme involving a one year trial, supported by $A1.6 million in government funding, has recently established shelters for abused men in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. In Ireland, Mary Cleary founded Amen in December 1997, a voluntary group providing a confidential helpline, support service and information for male victims of domestic abuse. In the UK, the Next Steps Housing Association has recently created 100 places in 35 refuge houses across Northamptonshire for husbands and partners of abusive women. The Men’s Advice Line – a confidential helpline for all men experiencing domestic violence by a current or ex-partner – has also been established in the UK. In Wales, the Dyn Wales helpline has been set up to give support to male victims across the country.

Regrettably, Australian government policies have been based on the assumption that almost all perpetrators are male and almost all victims are female. As such, there is little support available for abused men in this country. Now is the time for action by politicians and community leaders to recognise that a comprehensive approach is required to combat the scourge of family violence. The One in Three Campaign is doing its bit to help. Its website can be found at www.oneinthree.com.au.