16 Day Campaign

" Women! Mighty Goddess of mans dreams and all that he admires!
Why did you consent to become a mere whim to his desires?
The Almighty decreed you a bearer and nourisher of life,
Why did you from your natural role so willingly retire?"

I had written some days back about the 16 days of activism against gender violence, and when I had written that post I had thought I would write a post a day on a related topic. But the fact of the matter is we think a lot and seldom act on what we think. I got busy with my life and did'nt bother to write a single post on a subject I feel about. Today after being absent from my blog for the past 5 days I looked up my stats and saw some one had ended up on my blog by searching for "How do Pakistani men treat their wives?". That got me thinking about the 16 day campaign and I figured I should write something about that.

Gender violence is not a religious or a geographic issue, its a global issue spanning all cultures and religions. From times long ago women have been reffered to as the "weaker sex". Even today, women are harrased at the workplace and beaten at home by their husbands, boyfriends, partners, siblings and parents. Abused physically, mentally and sexually by men close to them. This has got to stop but it won't untill we do something about it. Women should fight for their rights, they should not quitely take anything that comes their way.

Men on the other hand are usually the ones who use their physical strength to abuse the women around them. These men need to be stoped. And men should take steps to change the situation.

This should start by:

1. Mentoring and teaching young boys about how to be men in ways that don't involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programs, including anti-sexist men's programs.
2. Men should approach gender violence as a MEN'S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.
3. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner -- or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general -- don't look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don't know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON'T REMAIN SILENT.
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.

This situation needs to be tackled and men and women all over the world need to work together to make amends.