Theme :-
- Amid the MeToo movement and the increasing awareness on sexual assaults, more and more women are now coming forward to report the sexual harassment cases. But as a result of this, some women are making false allegations causing a threat to the reputation and career of men. And hence, men’s rights activists are demanding for a separate ‘National commission for men’.
- This demand is not new. Activists have been writing to the government over the past few years because so many laws in India are skewed against men.
Need for ‘National Commission for Men’ or ‘Ministry of Men’ in India :-
- As per 2011 census, India has 51.47% male population. India has ‘Ministry for women & child development’, but none of the government entities is working on men’s rights. As India is democratic country, it is unfair to neglect people based on their gender.
- With better and more stringent mechanisms and laws in place to deal with sexual harassment, rape cases and domestic violence cases, unfortunately, there have been instances of misuse of the laws to cause harm to innocent men. Setting up a Ministry of Men would at least give such men a chance to make their case. This, in no way, is meant to undermine the case for the protection of women.
- It has been observed that countries where the sex ratio is skewed against women, crimes against women increase drastically. As can be easily seen in India, crimes against women have been on the rise. Crimes committed by juveniles are also on the increase. Most horrific of all, crimes against minor girls have increased drastically since 2012. This paints a very grim picture of our society as a whole. Highest GDP growth rate amounts to nothing if our society itself is corrupted to the extent that it is right now. India has been a patriarchal society since the centuries. To make a shift to an egalitarian society for women in every aspect of life, Indian men need to be re-educated and rehabilitated with the new norms. The perception of women in society needs to change and that can only be done by an inclusive approach. A ministry of men would definitely be required to address such issues of changing how men think and respond.
- Drug addiction is a menace that has plagued the Indian youth in recent years. The majority of drug addicts are males. A ministry of men can help solve the problem as to why capable male youth of the country are resorting to such self-destructive activities.
- It has been observed that girls perform better at academics than boys in schools. Also, most of the unemployed youth (looking for jobs) of the country are men. A ministry of men can help solve such problems.
- If a woman is a victim of any sort of harassment and is in a distress, society will more likely to help her. But the same is not true for men. If a man is victim of domestic violence or sexual harassment, there is no single government entity he can approach to. Moreover, society may make fun of him for being weak. This is the reason married men are twice likely to commit suicide when compared to married women. To address these gender stereotypes and discrimination, there is a need for ‘National commission for Men’.
Against the proposal :-
- In India, it is very difficult for women to go to police station to report crimes against them. Men’s commission may further deter them from approaching courts.
- As women face violence because of their gender, they need special laws to protect them. But, in general men do not face physical harassment just because of their gender.
Conclusion :-
In light of the above arguments, we can say that a ‘Ministry of men’ or ‘National commission for men’ would definitely benefit the Indian society to a very great extent.
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