A woman accusing an entire family for dowry harassment has become normal. But, accusing a 2-month-old in the said case had to sound ignominy and bailing Zoya had to make stirring news for being the youngest person being bailed.[1]
This said instance may be odd, peculiar, unacceptable,
and irrational but still noticeable with a legal and moral remedy. But, when it
comes to offering a legal remedy to men, things are far away from reality, whereas
moral remedies stay out of the picture. The only noticeable point is when men and
their problems are usually considered illogical and often becomes offensive to
the other side, when talked about.
New initiatives/programmes on how men can contribute women in
work field by ending domestic workloads are daily things[2] but nobody
ever presses the need for having measured to improve masculine health.
MASCULINITY- on the shorthand, it is referred to social expectations &
practices of a manhood. Masculinity articles talk about deeds, roles and characteristics
considered to be appropriate for men in the society. The beliefs describe
“manliness” as strength, dominancy, emotionlessness, financially maintaining
their family, sexual power, etc.[3]
Men failing to do so are asked to prove their manliness but forced to suppress
how and what they feel even if it is hurtful; resulting in psychological
imbalances such as unnecessary dominancy, sexual aggression, emotional
suppression, sexism etc.[4]
Every boy must have heard these words
in his younger years, “be a man”. Sadly, he begins to hear such words right
from the tender age when he is not yet a teenager. There is another irrational
expectation that men do not cry and if he does, his manhood is attacked as if
only women have the monopoly over the tears, while men are born with power of
staying happy every second.
From “men don’t cry/be a man” to “men
are morally & legally bound to maintain parents, children and wife” despite
his earnings and dejectedly, men not earning “sufficiently” is against the
social expectations as well. These social expectations & practices which
are swayed and reinforced every minute by the society, institutions &
especially by the law which intends and portrays that no man:
-
can have his modesty outraged,
-
get sexually assaulted, harassed, raped,
-
dies due to mental and physical cruelty,
-
be asked for sexually coloured remarks or favours by women,
-
can be a victim of domestic violence, stalking or voyeurism,
-
can die as an outcome of dowry death.
These acts are presumed to be done only
against women who are considered to be innocent/accused till proven guilty
but men are criminals even when they are found innocent. Where a mere statement
raised by women gives a presumption that she was raped, the voice of men even being
victim gets lost in the dark.
It is irrational how even a single statement
by the women being victim of the rape excruciates the accused/male, his
identity, without any thought of the fact that the man might be innocent. But,
no, a mere statement by the alleged female victim is enough to incarcerate the dignity,
future, career, and social acceptance of the man in question.
Things do not stop here; a man is even crumbled
financially where he is expected to provide maintenance under HMA, DVA, CrPC,
Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, Indian Divorce Act etc. Fathers are under
obligation to maintain their daughter till she marries but sons are eligible
for such maintenance only till they attain the age of 18 years.
To add up the punches, “boys will be boys” tops
the vogue, advocating negative impression about men, further intensifying the
toxicity. A
man proven innocent in courts of law remains guilty forever on social media. Even
law and society recognize discriminations/offences against women and
children only. Ironically,
women slapping men is women Empowerment, men slapping women is “Namard”; yet we
claim living under masculine power.
When men earn, he does it with the
intend to serve his parents, wife, children etc., but on contrary when women earn
it is all about, “I don’t need a man, I am self-dependent.” There is this big difference
where a man is assumed to maintain and earn for others which is never enough, whereas
when a woman earns, it is taken as an achievement without asking her to earn
for others.
To add up some more bizarre laws of the
country, according to Section 46 of Cr.P.C, no women can be arrested after
sunset and before sunset and even otherwise during the allowed period the
arrest ought to be made against women has to be made by the women police
officer only.
There are plenty of such legal provisions that
put men on a lower bar. One such provision is under section 160 of Cr.P.C
saying that women of any age cannot be called to the police station for recording
of her statements which can only be done at the place where she resides that
too in the presence of female police officer only.
Another favouring provision was found to be
done by Maharashtra Police that has reduced the working hours of women police personnel
from 12 hours to 8 hours for work life balance[5], meanwhile the male officers continue to work
for 12 hours in the name of masculinity. Also, in a very recent Judgment by Bombay
High Court pronounced that a woman can't be compelled to work just because she is
educated, meanwhile men have to earn and legally maintain his parents, wife and
children even if he is a beggar or disabled, the court observed in some other
case.
With the role of masculinity vis. a vis.
suicides, Martin Seager, a clinical psychologist in the UK, says “When a woman becomes unemployed,
it is painful, but she doesn’t feel like she’s lost her identity or femininity.
But when a man loses his work, he’s made to feel that he is not a man.” The question is why a man’s identity is always
targeted, why is he not given empathy, why is he treated like a feelingless rock?
Masculinity under umpteen ways plays a
huge role numbering the male suicides. As discussed, in this article, men are not
supported at all, they cannot seek a shoulder to lean on and can never talk of
their emotions, else they will be ripped of their masculinity. We do not realize
that such deprivations and situations along with all those toxic conditions of
being a man, being the sole bread earner, supporting their family wife children
alone etc. play crucial role in hiking the number of male suicides.
According to data from NCRB 1,33,623
suicides were reported in India in 2015 out of which 68% suicides were by men and
NCRB classifies the reasons for suicides as family issues, debt, unemployment,
etc. As per the data, in 2018 the 116% of more suicide were done by men, in
2019 the gap remained 106% and in in 2020, while 700 women died by suicide, the
figure for men was 131% more.[6] This trend stands true globally as
well. For instance, in 2014, 76% of suicides in the UK were by men,[7]
ratio is similar in Canada.
In every
country in the world, male suicides outnumber female suicides. U.S in the year
2007, male suicide constituted 79% as compared to women. This war against men
and women is waged against us by ourselves. It is like a civil war within us
all. In 2007, another 14,538 men were killed by homicide in the U.S compared to
3,823 women, constituting 79% of the victims. In 2007, another 79,827 men were
killed in accidents, compared to 43,879 women. 91% of those killed on the job
in 2007 were men pertaining to dangerous jobs.[8]
India’s
national average is 53.13% male beggars to 46.87% female beggars.[9] It will be correct to say
that this is largely due to the fact the men are the victims of all gender biased reservation
schemes that are predominantly in favour of women with nothing in men’s favour.
Cleaning and maintaining of public and community toilets track
the cleaners mostly from the slum areas numbering as approximately 2,02,000
cleaners out of which 75% of them are men.[10]
In addition to this manual scavenging also has been done majority on the part of
the men even when it has been heeded upon the Hon’ble Courts of India as gross
violation of Human Rights.
Coming to an article of BBC which relates to data of
U.K., some stats pertaining to Acid Attack says around 50 men and 50 women were
attacked each year, from 2007 to 2011 and since 2012, the number of attacks on
men has witnessed a surge each year, triggering at 352 in 2016.[11]
It has been rightly said that, “there is no prosecution in these cases but persecution.”
[1] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/two-month-old-baby-gets-bail-396564
[3] ACFrOgAZ9X_S2Bl-K9iPv3XhiQ140Fw6QWeUNSQwJwuNXzShO1b_Wv9-Vbsw1KX0rkmdxRZ-nlwzPhL-WIQLh1agPgzn5s70jFg-wYO0cIafAvyfqfNvFQQX_UYSZKGjzuPLlyl2J_UFqRjaCxNs.pdf
(ndi.org)
[5] https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/maharashtra-women-cops-to-now-have-8-hour-duty-instead-of-12-for-work-life-balance-articleshow.html
[6] https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2021/oct/20/data-shows-gender-disparity-in-suicide-death-rates-in-delhi-2373502.html
[7] https://thewire.in/culture/reporters-diary-male-suicides-india
[8] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rethinking-men/201102/the-wars-against-men
[9] https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/muslims-polpulation-in-india-muslims-beggar-unemployment-census-data-muslim-economic-survey-2941228/
[10] https://thewire.in/labour/manual-scavenging-sanitation-workers
Read something thought provoking after so long👍
ReplyDelete