International Men’s Day-19th November is celebrated in over 70 countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, India, China, United States. International Men’s Day began to be celebrated since 1999 after it was started in Trinidad and Tobago by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh for whom his father was his role model.
The main objective of celebrating International Men’s Day is to celebrate being a man.
It also means to recognize the contributions that men make towards the progress of the society, to salute the sacrifices they make for their near and dear ones, to highlight the problems faced by them and create awareness about the same in the society.
Observing International Men’s Day also aims at bringing forth, the key issues faced by men and create awareness about the same in the society.
Theme 2014 – Individual Contentment is a man’s first priority:
Men are required to prove their manhood at every step in their lives. As a result, the society is generally very harsh on them. Unlike women, men do not gain their manhood biologically; they need to earn it sociologically. This process makes men extremely competitive in nature. Men view other men as rivals, enemies, and competitors who are obstacles in their path towards attaining manhood. However, before coming to the theme and its elaboration, let’s talk for a while about what it means to gain manhood sociologically.
A man needs to prove his mettle by either becoming rich, famous or both. Since a lot of men cannot achieve that, they lead an extremely struggle-some life marred by expectations and vying for acceptance. While, a handful few who are able to achieve name, fame, money etc. hog the limelight and set the standards for other men. Their behavior defines the traits of the male gender.
This social mindset makes it precarious for men. Men are often thrown into rat race wherein they all must follow a set pattern. In this rat race often men sacrifice their own interests and hobbies as apparently those hobbies may not seem economically lucrative enough to earn money so that the man can support his family. Fearing this apprehension often men lead compromised lives devoid of individual contentment. They make do with this kind of life thinking that there is no other option.
This one day is set aside for the society to extend gratitude towards all men and encourage them to prioritize their own individual contentment. Men have been making positive contributions to the world by working hard and sacrificing their likes and interests.
The fact that most men lead lives, without giving due importance to their individual contentment, leads to an extremely stressful life. As a result,
1. Every year close to 1, 00,000 men commit suicide in India, including 65000 married men.
2. Suicide rates by men are ever increasing year by year at about 6% over the previous year.
3. Men are dying 6 times the rate they are born.
4. Men succumb to 3 times more in road accidents compared to women.
5. Men are having a life expectancy of 5 years lower compared to women.
Key Issues of Men:
There are many issues that face men in the current society. There is either little or no awareness regarding these issues in the society. This leads to the creation of an atmosphere that is highly insensitive towards a man. Some of the key issues facing men are:
1. Men face discrimination targeted against them in the family courts.
2. Today, there is a 90% chance that a man will lose access to his children if he gets separated or divorced.
3. Government and courts have no policy for prevention of suicide of married men.
4. Even if a man is abused by a woman, society rarely punishes the abusive woman.
5. Men are conditioned by the society to take more risks and endanger their lives and limbs to play the role of an UNPAID PROTECTOR.
6. The sacrifices that men make for society and family are taken for granted and considered to be a duty for the man.
7. The contributions that men make towards society and family often go unsung.
8. The Government of India has no official mechanism available at their disposal to collect statistics regarding “crime against men”.
9. Men are not encouraged to prioritize their individual contentment, rather, their goodness is measured by how much they can sacrifice for others.
10. Men find it very difficult and challenging to discuss about their issues and concerns.
These issues are just a tip of the iceberg of the many issues that face men currently in the society and need to be addressed.
Event
This year Confidare Consultancy presents an “Art Gallery and Exhibition”. This art gallery shall contain photographs, cartoons and statistics which highlight various aspects of a man’s/boy’s life. There will also be a section on books written about men’s issues and how societies abuse and use men. There will a section of videos which would showcase revealing aspects of “Being a Man”.
This Gallery will be held on 15-16 November 2014 at “AAGAMI hotel, 104 Babar Road, Barakhambha Avenue, Cannought Place, Opposite The LALIT Intercontinental, NEW DELHI from 11 AM – 8 PM on both the days. Contact: 9810742561 / 9410217409.
November is Men’s Health Awareness Month and Movember is sweeping the nation. Men sporting moustaches to raise awareness about men’s health and the importance of screenings and early detection is a wave catching up internationally.
Confidare supports Movember to promote good health of men and to encourage men to take care of their health. This International Men’s Day, Confidare members shall be sporting moustaches at the art gallery displaying solidarity with Movember.
About Confidare:
Confidare India has started India’s first ever Community Center to enable men to talk and share about the challenges and stressful aspects of life, especially marital/relationship problems.