Men’s Engagement

Violence against women, be it physical, sexual, psychological or economic, has been a major hindrance in Pakistan’s development as without the active and productive participation of this half segment of the society, we cannot achieve the progress and prosperity.

Violence against women is rampant in our society, with horrible cases erupting each day. This violence emanates majorly from patriarchal mindset. Men of our society are raised and socialized in a way that they consider themselves superior over women who are deemed to be born to serve men in different ways. In this scenario, it is important to motivate and engage men in the movement of ending violence against women.

In Pakistan, individuals and organizations have always tried to address this problem by motivating and sensitizing women to stand up for their rights and claim a fair share in the society but, unfortunately, in a patriarchal setup like ours, this approach did not work.

To fill this gap and find a viable and sustainable solution to this issue, WEG came up with an altogether different approach; that was to engage men to end violence against women. We built our campaign on the narrative that this dominant and stronger segment of the society must be mobilized to accept the other marginalized half as equal counterpart and ensure gender justice at all levels. This approach was appreciated by the society and experts. 

There are some great benefits to the approach of working with men when we strive to ensure a violence-free society. Some of those are:

1. Gender-based violence continues to be a problem in communities across the world. Until everyone including men recognizes their responsibility to end violence, the health and safety of women and girls will continue to be at risk.
2. Gender violence needs to be approached as a men’s issue. Overwhelmingly men hurt women. It is through work with men and boys that we can end violence against women.
3. Women want and need male allies to join them in their stand against violence.
4. Most men respect women and do not agree with violence against women. They need education and support to mobilize for change.
5. The efforts of men already working to stop violence will be strengthened with new male allies at their side. Many men want to join this movement but do not know-how.
6. Men are not born violent. Some become violent because of destructive beliefs and expectations about what it means to be a man. Work with men and boys can offer new models of masculinity and manhood, which reject gender violence and build respect for women and girls.
7. Men can stop the violence! They can choose not to perpetrate acts of violence and challenge those men who do. Men can also challenge ideas and attitudes, which support violence against women.
8. Men also suffer as victims of male violence. Women, children, and men are all hurt because of violence. Violence prevention work to engage men and boys will make life safer for everyone.
9. Men and boys listen to their peers–we need to mobilize men and boys to talk to each other about respect for women and girls, and share information about violence prevention with other men in their families, workplaces, and communities.
10. Many men hold positions of power as decision-makers and opinion leaders in their communities. We need to educate them about gender-based violence to gain their political, financial, and moral support in ending violence.