Becoming Better Male Allies

Have you ever encountered incidents in which women are denied what is rightfully theirs or even robbed of the opportunity to voice their opinions? If yes, then you and I are in the same boat. The boat rocks violently as waves upon waves of stigma, brutality, oppression and prejudices strike it, and it continues to steer in all directions trying to reach the coast.

As a child residing in a rural area in Haryana, I saw women in my family raising their kids, managing the household, working in the village school and still being denied the right to be involved in family decisions. As a 20-year-old guy living in the city, I still see women struggling for equality. The time has changed, the location has changed, but women are still bound by shackles the society has deemed appropriate to put on them, with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

I see girls on bus stops at night with worry etched on their faces wondering if they will be able to catch the last bus from the metro station, vigilant of the leering eyes. I see girls struggling to be included in family decisions. All these incidents shake me to the core and make me realize how lucky yet cursed we men are. Lucky because we have all the privileges in the world, and we don't realize its importance. Cursed because even though we have the privilege, we do not do much to share it or uplift women so that they can stand with us and enjoy equality. I am aware a lot of people might disagree with me. It's okay, but before you lash out at me for living in the old times and advise me to see how modern the society has become, ask yourself if you have really never seen girls and women being deprived of equality or are you privileged enough to belong to the small strata of society who have really accepted all the genders as equals because honestly, I don't.

The first thing we need to do is acknowledge the fact that girls do not experience equality in every step of life and stop believing what is spouted off by arrogant, educated, privileged millennials who have not yet encountered the harsh reality of our society. Next, it's time for action. Simply talking about something is just not going to cut it now. We need to start taking action, essentially doing our bit for the society we envision, and that starts from now.

Here are some ways for us guys to support gender equality:

Learn about the gender equality movement

By learning about gender equality, one can understand more about the urgent need so that we can start dealing with the issues that plague our society. Explore the forms of discrimination that women/girls are experiencing in their lives.

Acknowledge male privilege

For achieving gender equality, the first and foremost step is to start acknowledging that we men have privileges over women due to patriarchy – a social system that gives power and control to men. This system provides privileges to men and excludes women from political, economic, cultural and social spheres.

Support gender equality policies in the workplace

A study shows that 77% of men believe they are doing everything they can to help gender equality in the workplace, while only 41% of women agree with the former assessment. It indicates the gap between the intention and action taken by men. And we need to work on policies that remove bias against equal pay, transparency and parental leave.

Showing solidarity

Even though raising awareness about male dominance and acknowledging that fact females face discrimination proves(shows) that there is improvement in gender equality, this alone will not stop the oppression of girls and women.

We should start taking a stand against those who are sexist and continue the practice of patriarchy so that we can achieve equal freedom, power and respect for women and girls.

If we wish to create our own utopian world and see our dreams about a peaceful society in which men and women enjoy equal privilege and benefits come to reality, we need to start acting, and the time starts now.