Working with men and boys for new gender norms and social justice
India may be reaching for the moon but on ground the reality for women in the country is far from starry. Ghastly incidents of violence against women including rape, honour killing, burning alive, acid attack, abduction, domestic violence and sexual harassment on the streets, in homes and at workplaces are commonplace. Brute physical violence is not the only way women in India experience secondary status. From the time girls are born their life circumstances and opportunities are different from that of boys, much of it due to differing social norms and expectations. Dowry, early marriage, burden of domestic work, lack of adequate education, health and income opportunities, declining female sex ratio and absence from decision-making positions and public life are but some of the ways in which gender discrimination persists in our society.
The laws of the country have been strengthened to prevent crimes against women. Laws like the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act and the Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act provide some level of security in the work place and home. The Government has also started taking steps to address gender related discrimination through programmes like ‘Beti bachao beti padhao’ or ‘Save the girl child, educate the girl child’. Most of the attention is towards securing the safety of women and girl children and ensuring opportunities for parents to provide girls greater care and nurture.
These are important steps but probably will not lead to full success till men and boys are also involved in the endeavour. It is time to shift the onus of change from women and girls alone. For too long have women only carried the torch of the struggle for gender equality. Progress is slow in this one sided task, whereas engagement with men can make the process collaborative.
Moreover, laws and government programmes cannot be the only solution; equality norms are formed at home, where attention has to be paid to what boys are learning at every level about respect for women and girls and their equal treatment. A change in the nature of relationships between brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, husbands and wives is required that is free from patriarchal expectations. There is also need to recognize the alienation of men from women’s movement towards equality, their lack of involvement, incomprehension and resistance to changing gender roles that are disrupting centuries of embedded societal norms, causing a fierce male pushback and anger at men’s perceived loss of status, honour and gender privileges.
A change in traditional norms of masculinity and patriarchal structures in society that sustain it are needed.