men

Samar Halarnkar

‘I am against women wearing obscene clothes. With such clothes, they tempt men, and that’s why they (women) get raped.’

It is bad enough that Indian men — not the most appealing of God’s creatures — in positions of power occasionally make public, sexist statements that demean working women and female students. But when a declaration like that comes from a woman like KK Seetamma, head of a committee set up by Bangalore University to fight sexual harassment, you have to wonder about the kind of thoughts coursing through the mind of emerging India.

Manvi Malhotra

Just about 60 years ago, showing off skin was not even a legal concept; it was illegal for women to show their skin more than their legs and arms. By this I am referring to first world countries. Swim wear for women were gigantic dresses. But as the there was rise of feminism, women were appealing for their rights not only in fields like english literature, but also in the physical world. Now showing off legs and arms was legal, swim wear at beach was also showing off an adequate amount of skin. Out of this historical happening the main stream that was important to us is that there was a "restriction". Yeah its a controversial word, and sentiments are hurt with this word if we leave behind the whole chapter of how illegal it was. Girls were getting arrested for showing skin, but because their was a clear difference between the “decent” and “non-decent” girls (by this I mean sex workers off-course). This all created a hindrance or fear in the mind of decent girls to not show skin. This is the same concept prevalent here in the India.

Prakriti Mukerjee

Dear Man walking on the street,

Your ears listen to music,

And your feet left-right-left to the beat.

Your fingers are busy typing a text

To a distant someone who is on your mind

But between this song and the next,

Do take out some time

Sapna Shahani

I grew up to be quite the feminist. When I think about the male roles in my family, none are really chauvinist. My father, although the primary bread-earner, was fairly dominated by my strong-willed mother. One of my brothers is an alpha male who objectifies women and has been known to get into violent fights but would still respect a strong woman. My other brother has a pretty balanced male-female psychology and has been able to bond with males and females alike.

Zennia Bhattacharjee

We all believe that men can play an active role in eradicating gender violence and their active participation is sure going to help in breaking patriarchal cliches. But is it solely their individual responsibility to create a realm of gender equity and pay respect to the opposite sex ? It's immensely comforting to lay down rules & brainstorm over the many ways in which 'Men Can' take initiative to make a noticeable difference. But I believe, the power also vests in the hands of those vulnerable species who since time immemorial have been given the status of 'weaker section of society'.

Dipika Chaurasia

It is an obvious fact that only the perpetrator can help in controlling his/her actions against the victim in the first place and then can other measures follow from the victim to retort and tackle the issue. And I believe that the reforms in the attitude of men (perpetrator here) can come only if they are brought up with right values by their families and schools in their formative years.

Shobhita Dhar

Mohnish Moorjani is a real estate developer in Mumbai who has wit- nessed sexual harassment of women on streets a million times. But unlike most men, he has decided to do something about it. It’s a long shot, but he has started off with Shoot at Sight, an online group on Face- book where women can post pictures of eve teasers. The idea is to shame the offenders. “As a man, nothing pisses me off more than the sight of men shamelessly staring at my partner or friends...young men holding hands, who could either be lovers or sticking together because they are scared of something, check out every woman passing by as if it were ET doing squats,” says Moorjani, who regularly clicks eve teasers and puts up their mugs on his page.

Cynthia Cockburn and  Ann Oakley

The phrase "violence against women" calls for comment. It names the victims but not the perpetrators. The fact that men are mainly responsible for violent and health-harming behaviours, not only against women and children but also against each other, is so taken for granted that it slips beneath the radar of commentators and policymakers.

Kuber Sharma

Kuber Sharma