5 Initiatives By Men That Lead The Fight For Women’s Rights

Patriarchy does not only affect women but affects the other genders as well. It makes men conform to certain stereotypes and norms like ‘boys don’t cry’ and ‘men can’t wear pink’. These distorted notions of masculinity harm men in the long run who are unable to express themselves freely. Thus, feminism needs men as allies, who can support the women’s rights movement because after all, women should not be alone in their struggle to attain equality. Here are five Indian men who are amplifying the rights of women and motivating other people to do the same.

Harish Sadani

Harish Sadani established his organisation, MAVA aka Men Against Violence and Abuse in 1993, making it one of the first organisations preventing violence against women in India. Through his work, Sadani has been empowering men to prevent abuse against women and girls.

He aims to band together men, especially the youth, to reverse the effects of gender bias and protect the rights of the fairer sex. Sadani inspires men to discard their superiority complex and objectification of women, while also battling against the social conditioning that causes a barrier between men and women.

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Arunachalam Muruganantham

Known as the Pad Man of India, Arunachalam Muruganantham first came face to face with the murky reality of menstruation in 1998. He became aware of the fact that his wife and many other rural women were utilising old clothes during periods, which could have harmful effects on their health.

He was encouraged to ensure safe menstruation, so he invented the low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and created awareness on the grass-root level about the negative effects of unhygienic menstruation practices. However, he faced a lot of rebuke and ostracisation as he spoke aloud about the taboo subject. He was boycotted by his own family and village folk, but Muruganantham persisted in his journey to find a solution to cloth rags used during periods.

He did not stop at just that. Muruganantham went on to build a fake uterus to test the quality of the pads. His perseverance and dedication to the cause paid off as he was able to create the perfect sanitary pad and received worldwide recognition for his incredible feat.

Dipesh Tank

Dipesh Tank was one among the many Indians who was shocked and ashamed to be part of a community that let the Nirbhaya rape case take place. He was awakened to the dark reality of crimes against women which earlier hid in every alley, street and corner. Tank decided to take a stand and established his organisation, War Against Railway Rowdies (WARR) in 2013, to prevent sexual and emotional abuse towards women in public places.

Becoming a beacon of justice, Tank raised his voice against eve-teasing through his crowd-sourced initiative and since then has been aiding government security forces such as the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Mumbai to keep public spaces safe for women passengers.

Shakti Vahini

Nishi, Rishi and Ravi Kant are three brothers who set up an NGO called Shakti Vahini to protect women and children from violence and abuse. As they were growing up, they saw violence against women first-hand. They witnessed the incidents of domestic abuse in the coal belt of West Bengal and felt cognitive dissonance as their parents taught them to respect women. This motivated them to start their own organisation.

Their NGO has worked to prevent honour killings, human trafficking, spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, and even rescued young girls from brothels. Shakti Vahini has opened in six states and they hope to expand further.

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Satchit Puranik

Satchit Puranik was intrigued by the women-specific events held in public spaces by Neha Singh and Devina Kapoor, which were inspired by the book Why Loiter, authored by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade.

He was motivated to do something similar that included men as well. This led to an event called, ‘Walk Like a Woman’, which showcased the concept of walking in women's shoes. However, it did not end at that as Puranik and more than 20 cross-dressed men, walked the streets of Mumbai, from Prithvi theatre to Juhu beach to spread awareness about women’s issues, and motivate men to follow suit.

Puranik, a theatre artist, endeavoured to make men part of the feminist movement, and formulated a play called Loitering, which portrays how patriarchy prevents men from raising their voices about women’s issues in public spaces. He has been travelling across India and abroad to showcase this work of art.

HerZindagi hopes that more men join the fight against patriarchy, and we together can beat this structural injustice that allows crimes against women to exist.

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