Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), a human rights NGO fighting for gender equality and men’s rights in India, urges Mr. Modi to hold a discussion in the Parliament of India about the issues faced by Men, in the wake of recent suggestion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to let only women talk in the Parliament on Women’s day.
“The number of male suicides, particularly that of married males in India is going up every year. Every 9 minutes, a married man commits suicide, according to the data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Parliament of India has a moral duty not to ignore men’s issues in its discussions. However, no one talks about men’s issues. Are men not the citizens of India? PM Modi should put an end to this gender discrimination by initiating a discussion on men’s issues in the parliament,”, urges Vivek Ganeshan, the secretary of Save Indian Family Foundation.
Though most politicians or judges are male, that does not mean they work to protect rights of vulnerable men. Instead these male politicians expect ordinary men to man up and stop sharing their pain or sufferings. This is the reason for suicide of almost 100,000 men every single year, out of which 25,000 suicides are just due to family reasons. Men in power must accept and acknowledge vulnerability of ordinary men.
“Accidents have led to the death of around 1.4 lakh men in the year 2014 alone. Men have to take life-threatening risks every day because they are considered as unpaid bodyguards to their family. Society also expects men to take risks to save others. In fact, men undergo a lot of untold trauma by performing the role of protector. Also, men do not get psychological support from anyone to discuss about their problems because the society invalidates the manhood of a complaining man. Unless we openly acknowledge and discuss men’s issues in Parliament, Indian men will never see light,” rues Jyoti Tiwari, the spokesperson of SIFF.
No Helplines for Men:
“Women have a lot of government sponsored distress helpline numbers to seek help. Men do not have even one government sponsored helpline. According to the definition of lawmakers, men can never be victims of domestic violence. What protection does a man get when he is being abused by his wife? Mr. Narendra Modi should take this seriously and give a platform to talk about how to make the life of men better in India,” Jyoti Tiwari continues.
Modi must accept 19th November as Men’s Day
We urge PM Modi to allow a debate only on men’s issue during International Men’s Day on 19th November.
Everyone is aware of the last year’s controversy in the British Parliament, when a feminist MP Jess Phillips mocked at conservative MP Phil Davies upon his suggestion that men’s issues should be discussed in the parliament on International Men’s Day on 19th November. Later, the British Parliament took his suggestion and approved a parliamentary debate on men’s issues at Westminster Hall.
Government must also start courses on male studies in Universities, just the way women studies or gender studies courses are conducted.
Opposition to reservation of 33% berths for women in trains:
“In India, there are increasing instances where women are pitted against men by the Govt. The 33% reservation of berths for women in railway coaches is purely anti-male. This policy once implemented will allow women to get confirmed berths, while men get waitlisted seats. When a family travels, the wife and daughter will get confirmed berths and tickets of the father and son will remain waitlisted. This is bizarre.” Says Rajesh Vakharia, president of SIFF,
“How can you expect the society to hold a healthy discussion on men’s issues, when it is considered ‘unparliamentary’ since the parliament chose not to discuss it? We strongly urge PM Narendra Modi to make it ‘parliamentary’ to discuss about men’s issues, which is a small step in preventing rising male suicides in India. PM Modi has the moral responsibility to solve the issues of Indian citizens, of which a little more than a half are males.”, observed Rajesh Vakharia.
