Purush Uvach is among the men’s groups that have come up in the last
decade. They take up various issues including violence against women and gender
equality and question traditional attitudes. They do work with women’s groups
from time to time.
Nandita Gandhi of the Forum Against Oppression of Women and founder of
Akshara, a feminist resource centre, says right from the beginning, the women’s
movement has had the support of men. However, the women’s movement is supposed
to empower women and its first mandate is to work with women. “I would agree
with the need to have the cooperation of men or work with them on a strategic
basis but they cannot be part of the internal working of the women’s movement,”
she says.
Geeta Seshu, an independent feminist, points out that the book 'Breaking the Moulds' is a
valuable effort and though a lot of feminists are critical of it, it was
important to read and debate on it. “To look at the issue in terms of men
versus women is very narrow but the good thing is that the book goes beyond
that. A lot of the essays are personal accounts which is very similar to what
the women’s movement did initially. It moved from the personal to the
political. After reading the book, I feel there is an intention to go beyond
that personal aspect but it’s not clear yet. As far as men go, the political
articulation of a movement is still missing and as a movement it is still in
its infancy,” she says. Breaking male stereotypes is a key factor in men’s
liberation and this book is a step in that direction. How that can be used to
build a strong movement is something to look forward to.
