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:

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:

The reason behind this being that they want to highlight that this is a global and not domestic story.

Violence against men seems to be a largely untold story and is something that they are really interested in featuring.

The show that she is researching on behalf of, Taboo, is National Geographic’s most successful show.

Taboo is a long-running prime-time documentary series on the National Geographic Channel. The series presents an in-depth analysis of human behaviours and customs from around the world. As the title suggests, the focus is on practices that some countries or cultures might consider strange.

But often things that are considered taboo are not well understood. In each episode, personal stories are presented alongside analysis from leading academics and experts in the relevant field.

Part of the reason for this success is their observational documentary style of shooting. In recent years female violence against men has become more public affair, it would seem that there a quite few contributing factors, but above all, there seems to be very little support by way of shelter for men that are in this situation.

Violence against men seems to be a largely untold story and is something that they are really interested in featuring.

If you are able to assist Sarah, please contact her at the details below.

Sarah Isaac / researcher
Beyond Productions
109 Reserve Rd, Artarmon NSW 2064
E: sarah_isaac@beyond.com.au
L: +61 (0)2 9437 2000
M: 040 6897171
F: +61 (0)2 9437 2090

See also: One in Three page.

Present day fathers are actively involved in parenting their children in every way and in all spheres of their development. In the changed scenario of our family system, especially in cities the role of the father is paramount and must be recognized equally along with the Mother.

Shared parenting is the only solution for the normal growth of children whose parents are separated.

Views of the Fathers’ Day bash at Bangalore by the members of CRISP (Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting):

More reports and pictures:

1. Are dads dispensable commodities?
2. Protest of fathers at Nagpur.
3. News reports on the Fathers’ Day celebrations at Hyderabad.
4. Write-up in The tribune.
5. Papas out in pursuit of happiness (Times of India)
6. For them, Father’s Day has no relevance
7. Child abduction by parents among Indian diaspora raises concern
8. Right to fatherhood
9. YouTube Channel

The protest will see hundreds of men venting their agony in front of the Town Hall.

According to SIFF, husbands and their family members are facing discrimination by the government and inaction of the judiciary against ‘wife terror’.

This ‘intimate terror’ also includes ‘biting’, ‘nagging’, ‘hitting’, and ‘extra-marital affairs’, according to SIFF. Other ‘terror’ by wives the husbands will protest against include daily abuse, threat of blackmail to commit suicide, threat of criminal cases and not allowing to play with children.

“Recently, a young man was ordered to pay Rs 25,000 per month as maintenance to his estranged wife in a marriage that lasted just six months. Even a government employee does not get Rs 25,000 pension per month after working for 30 years,” said an SIFF spokesperson.

The protesters are demanding changes in laws that govern divorce, dowry law and maintenance. These they say are being used to file false cases against men by their wives.

“There is a need for a separate state commission for men and create policies for men. More married men are committing suicide in India. At present one married man commits suicide every nine minutes,” the SIFF spokesperson said.

Thanks: Bangalore Mirror

Here are some photos of the protest:

Men: Be Pround to Claim Your Rights	Husband Not An ATM Machine.	Give no Maintenance to Criminals.	Feminists Raping Indian Laws!!
Women Fight for Rights of their Sons.	Do not give a damn to Feminists.		Traffic passes by SIF Banner.
Every 9 mins, a husband commits suicide in India.	Women Leaders shout for men's rights.	Activist talks to local language TV Channel	Draconian Vampire's Act ?!!
Girls walk past the "Vampire's Act" Banner.	Activists discussing in the tent as the local magician stares at them!!

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.

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.