Unequal power not only suppresses women and girls, but also oppresses men and boys. Apart from the pressure of being the economic provider, rigid gender roles also limit men’s cultural experience. There is the pressure to appear virile and strong at the cost of suppressing emotions.
Since 2013, SNEHA’s Ehsaas program has been working among adolescents in Mumbai’s slum communities towards breaking these stereotypes. Through a mix of street plays and community sessions with adolescents and their families, gender stereotypes are questioned and challenged.
“The attitude has been to look at boys as problems”, says Neeta Karandikar, associate program director, Ehsaas. “This is especially the case after the Nirbhaya and Shakti Mills incident in Mumbai where the accused were from the slum areas. Boys from poorer communities were seen as problems. But we have to recognize the challenges they deal with”.
Traditional patriarchal attitudes, believes Karandikar, not only oppress women but act as traps for boys and men. By highlighting norms that allow boys to play while girls do hosuehold chores, Ehsaas encourages youngsters to question prevailing mindsets.
“My sisters would eat only after the men of the house would finish their meals”, says Shahid Shaikh, a peer educator with Ehsaas. ‘I never questioned that. It was after I joined the program that I realized how wrong this was and I now make sure they eat with everyone else”.
For decades, gender equality was considered a woman’s issue. Now, there is a realization that the role of men and boys in challenging and changing unequal power relations is critical. There is a stronger focus on the positive role men and boys can play in promoting women’s empowerment in the home, community, and workplace.
To know more about Ehsaas, read this NDTV report
