While there will always be some bigots in this world, not all men are chauvinists. Here are a few who have played an active role in furthering feminist causes
While there will always be some bigots in this world, not all men are chauvinists. Here are a few who have played an active role in furthering feminist causes
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All of us do have a feministic point of view on various issues; gender does not really play an important role here.
It is about standing up for a collective cause. It boils down to believing in human rights and standing up when you know someone else's rights are threatened. This is what I believe in and that is how I am a part of Maraa. We are working towards our new campaign, where we are staging street plays, making posters and videos to let people realise the harm being done to women in the name of culture.
Women all across the country need to realise that their unity at a time of crisis can make a lot of difference.
Women have to cross the barrier of culture, caste and stand together when their rights are being threatened.
I grew up watching a lot of Hindi films. In most of the movies, women are portrayed to be inferior, you often find at least one rape scene, and one act of domestic violence, where women are portrayed as weak and inferior. I don't believe in this. Such movies are delivering a wrong message.
These movies made me stand up for a cause. I did not want to remain a mute spectator when women were getting victimised. Media has caused a lot of harm to women in this manner, perhaps, unintentionally.
At Maraa,we are fighting against the monopoly of mainstream media. We believe in collective media, where people have to be a part of the media and stand up together for what they believe in.
Iqbal Ahmed, Family counsellor, Vanitha Sahayavani
I have been working with this organisation since 1993. I am from a village and I grew up looking at women, who were put through unspeakable atrocities. When I came to Bangalore, I decided to help women in any way I could. In my field of work, I get calls from many women every day women who are facing problems like assault and dowry harassment. We provide support by referring their case to lawyers or sometimes by providing moral support.
Iu00a0would never let religion interfere with my work and I don't believe that things in life are as simple as uttering a triple talaaq and then walking away. As a man, I will stand up for women and help them when the need arises. I have tried in my own way, using my knowledge of expertise in the field, to build strong faith and restore confidence in women who are subjected to many injustices.
Girish Kasarvalli, Director
I have directed many women centric movies. It is very true that stories and a good script talking about women ave always grabbed my attention. There are three main reasons for this if you consider any caste or religion, women are the ones who are subjected to pain and injustice. They are easy targets.u00a0
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The second reason is, though they are subjected to so much pain, women don't easily crumble under any circumstance. They face their problems boldly and negotiate the odds, no matter how hard the situation is. This has always fascinated me. This strength within a woman makes her what she is a pillar of strength in this society. The third reason is because Kannada literature has so many stories and poems about women who are strong. These stories have influenced me to a large extent.
I believe that when you keep your eyes and ears open, you will see the atrocities a woman is put through. I bring in these instances and weave them in my movies to bring the true picture out in the open and to let everyone know that a woman's strength is unbeatable.
Siddharth Narrain, founder member of Fearless Karnataka
The series of attacks on women in Bangalore is a cause of concern for every person who lives in this city, irrespective of gender, caste, class, religion or sexual orientation. These incidents, coupled with the police commissioner's shocking response, have created a climate of insecurity where women have to think twice before stepping out in this city, check if the clothes they are wearing are 'provocative', and carry pepper spray in case of an attack.
As a man who was born and brought up in this city, I am deeply concerned and agitated that these attacks continue despite media attention. The climate of fear that these attacks are meant to create should be challenged, and Fearless Karnataka/Nirbhaya Karnataka has been formed for this purpose.
u00a0Another concern we would like to address is the complete apathy of bystanders in some of these incidents.
One of the reasons that the attackers could get away in these cases is because people did nothing to intervene. This situation must be addressed through campaigns and appeals to the public to intervene in various ways. They could do this by noting down the registration numbers of the vehicles, calling the police, or by physically intervening.
The situation in Bangalore cannot be delinked from what is happening in Mangalore, where there is already a climate of fear and young people are scared to fraternise with others of a different religion.u00a0 We have to acknowledge that violence against women is a reality for a majority of women in this state, and that the recent attacks are only one a manifestation of the deep-rooted patriarchal society that we live in. The legitimacy that the state government has given this by not taking these attacks seriously is what is particularly worrying.
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