New Delhi, Nov 23
“Let it be love, and not lust that drives you to women”, “Men - Don't stare at women”, “Respect women, feel awesome” - such messages greeted passersby at a event here Saturday focusing on how men can change their attitude and respect women.
Public Celebration of Personal Change was organised at Jantar Mnatar by campaign group India for Integrity also to celebrate the changes men have brought in themselves.
“The event is all about recognising the change with respect to women we have brought in ourselves. It is not about finger pointing, rather it is an attempt to get us to answer our own questions about change. The most important being 'how can I change',” the event's organiser Jonathan Abraham said.
He added that the idea is to allow those who come to introspect how can they treat the women in their lives with more dignity.
“If we truly desire change, it must start with us. We celebrate this hope and look forward to have a country where everyone sees each other as respect worthy,” Abraham said.
The event included various interactive elements like a change floor that invited people to write messages, and a moustached mannequin where women could stick notes stating how they think they can be treated at par with men.
So, while a note read, “Serve your sister, and don't expect her to work for you in the kitchen,”, another read, “Treat us for what we are, and not for what you want us to be”.
So, while a note read, “Serve your sister, and don't expect her to work for you in the kitchen,”, another read, “Treat us for what we are, and not for what you want us to be”.
“Ladies should be made 50 percent partners in all resources. It should always be 'ladies first',” said Surya Prakash Kapur, a visitor.
The event also had a 'bindi man', who was adorned with 'bindis' and walked around distributing postcards, urging men to write messages pertaining to change along with their postal addresses.
“I walked the entire Hauz Khas Village yesterday (Friday) for around four hours, asking men to write messages on the postcards and stick a bindi on them. Once all the postcards are filled, we plan to send them back to the those who wrote them as a reminder to stick to their promises,” Sikan Kumar Panda, the bindi man, told IANS.
The event is a follow up to another event --Public Apology from Delhi Men to Delhi Women-- organised earlier in the year by the group to offer a personal apology to the women in the wake of the Dec 16 gangrape case in the capital.
By:IANS