Why India Needs A Men’s Commission: A Study

By Partha Sadhukhan: A recent writ petition in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has created ripples in Indian society (a copy of the petition is here). The writ, filed by Indian Police Services officer Amitabh Thakur, stresses law misuse by women and the lack of protection of men from such law misuse as the reasons behind demanding a men’s commission. Although these grounds are significant, there are many more reasons to establish a men’s commission as well as a men’s welfare ministry in India. We need to promote and protect the welfare of Indian men because:

1. > 90%, if not more, of war casualties are men.
2. Men are more prone to death at work. Almost all dangerous jobs are done by men.
3. > 80% of murder/homicide victims are men. Now a woman can have a “clean cheat” to murder a man based on an allegation that he wanted to rape her. And the government has provided her a gun (named Nirbheek). So this figure will increase, with no justice for men.
4. In > 90% of divorce cases, men pay alimony, and in most of these they still lose child custody.
5. Men commit approximately double the number of suicides compared with women across all ages and marital classes.
6. Men get at least 60% longer sentences than women who commit the same crime. There are many examples in India.
7. Very prominent gender bias against men occurs in the legal system: while there are more than 45 legal provisions/benefits for women, there are none for men.
8. 40% of domestic violence incidents are against men (according to a recent postgraduate study by a Delhi University student). However, there is no provision to report these incidents and receive justice.
9. The male fatality rate is much higher than the female fatality rate. That is why we see that in the 0-6 years category we have fewer women, but in the more than 60 years category, we have fewer men.
10. The average life expectancy of a female in India is 67.5 years, whereas that of a male is only 63.4 years.
11. In the past four decades, the average life expectancy of an Indian male increased by 15 years and that of an Indian female increased by 18 years, which shows that Indian men need protection now. Globally, this increase has been 12.1 years and 11.1 years, respectively.
12. Indian women are expected to stay healthy until 57.1 years of age, whereas an average Indian man is expected to stay healthy until 54.6 years of age.
13. 80% of men are homeless. However, only female homeless people have government grants and shelters. There are no government programs for male homeless people.
14. Only men are victims of paternity fraud. They still pay for those children’s maintenance.
15. More than 80% of taxpayers are men, whereas all their taxes are used to create laws against them and to make policies only for women.
16. Men pay tax for their income, including the alimony or maintenance they pay to their wives. They don’t get a tax benefit on the income lost in alimony. However, women get alimony but never pay taxes on that income.
17. In a family, women always marry up their status, but even when the husbands make more money, they spend less on themselves. However, women make less money, but they make their men spend on them more. This is evident from the floor space and products available for men and women.
18. Men pay more taxes, but there is no government spending on men’s healthcare needs. Indian feminists say men have stronger genes and hence they don’t require this. However, life expectancy data says the average Indian man is expected to live less compared with the average Indian woman.
19. There is no recognition of domestic violence against men and shelter for them. Women, however, can get domestic rights under the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) and snatch property from their husband even if he has earned it on his own.
20. Men get more punishment for the same crime. Women criminals are very often praised or even apologized to by the government. For example, a recent sex racket case involving an actress shows how the actress was let go and the man working as her agent was sent to jail.
21. Courts grant child custody to mothers most of the time.
22. There are ex-parte maintenance orders even for working women.
23. A protection officer is appointed under the DVA to female victims, whereas male victims don’t have any such privilege.
24. All mediation-related expenses are borne by the husband in divorce cases.
25. At times if the wife has to travel for a divorce case, the husband is made to bear the cost.
26. The wife is given open permission to file the same case in multiple places and all cases will go on simultaneously. For example, we have cases where a man faced 498a in multiple courts.
27. Women are not punished for false cases and using government machinery for their personal gains. Only some high-profile cases get punished.
28. Government-funded organizations, including the Ministry of Women & Child Development, National Commission for Women, state-run women’s commissions, Mahila Thana, and innumerable NGOs for women exist. There is nothing for men funded by government.
29. Male genital mutilation is accepted by society, but female genital mutilation is not.
30. A young boy raped by a woman will still be blamed and punished and may have to pay her child support if she becomes pregnant as a result.
31. Women do not have any responsibility in their sexual acts. However, men are held responsible for everything.
32. A woman can withdraw consent anytime during a sexual act; consensual sex can become rape, and punishment may be the death penalty.
33. There are women quotas in government jobs, trains, buses, multiplexes, etc. No such reservation for men. So women can enjoy both reserved and unreserved places. Article 15(3) of the constitution wanted to abolish discrimination by giving women equal opportunity and NOT all opportunities.
34. Lower standards are accepted for women in many entrance tests. Female students are given grace marks in centers of excellence like IIMs, and deserving male students are deprived of education.
35. A greater number of women-only colleges makes higher education for boys a distant dream; hence, we see an increase in the number of women graduating from colleges. Very soon that number will be higher than the number of male graduates. However, the social expectations of a boy/man to be the provider and maintenance payer will remain the same.
36. There are more male student dropouts than female student dropouts at the college level.
37. The government is building 1 crore (10 million) toilets ONLY for women, as if men do not need toilets.
38. Prime Minister Modiji gave money to his drivers so they could send their daughters to school, whereas it is women who get more educational aids and government funding. This shows sexism by the government and creates an expectation that girls going to school should get aid, but boys should NOT.
39. Male rape victims are mocked and punished as rapists.
40. Men are not expected to show emotions, which makes them unable to take care of emotional/psychological issues. No help for them either.
41. Victim-blaming is acceptable only when men are victims from women. No one is trying to change this mentality.
42. Men experience gender stereotyping by society as being violent, abusers, etc., whereas the expectation is a man will be the protector of society.
43. Men’s lives are given less value in emergency situations than women’s lives. For example, during the Uttarakhand flooding disaster, the government announced to rescue women first. Women got chopper service, but men did not. And ONLY men were seen rescuing others.
44. Male students are often given harsher punishment by teachers than are female students. A recent case of a female teacher beating a male student cruelly did not make national headlines. She was not arrested, only expelled from the school.
45. Sons are abused more by their mothers than are daughters.
46. More boys are sexually abused by women than girls, but that never makes national headlines either.
47. Boys are more vulnerable than girls to crime by society, but there is no care for them to prohibit that from happening.
48. More boys than girls need care and protection in institutions (2007 study by WCD ministry).
49. More boys than girls are in conflict with the law in different institutions (2007 study by WCD ministry).
50. More boys than girls are on the streets (2007 study by WCD ministry).
51. Boys are abused more than girls in any institution (2007 study by WCD ministry).
52. More boys than girls are sexually abused in institutions (2007 study by WCD ministry).
53. More boys than girls are exposed to pornography (2007 study by WCD ministry).
54. Violence against men by women is more socially acceptable and sometimes a matter of humor.
55. Men get tougher assignments compared with women, even if they are employed in same job.
56. Women get more leaves, flexible working hours, and work-from-home options compared with men.
57. Men have to work longer hours, but women do not.
58. Men who complain about being sexually objectified are laughed at. Often their mental state is questioned.
59. Men showing or rubbing genitals (even when itching) is considered vulgar and is a punishable offense. Women showing their breasts is considered an act of empowerment.
60. Women misbehaving with male police officers is acceptable, but men misbehaving with women officers (even male officers) is not.
61. A man is expected to ask a woman out and pay for the date (even if she rejects him). He is a loser.
62. A woman can slap a man on live TV (Tina Sharma did so during a debate) and that is not violence and the man loses his party post. The woman goes unpunished.
63. Our culture and media always consider a man as an abuser, even when he is a victim.
64. In media and TV, violence against men is glorified but violence against women is considered a heinous crime.
65. Media specifically mention women in any disaster death toll, whereas there is no special mention of men. For example, one news story stated that 37 people died in flood, out of which 10 were women.

So we see that India needs a commission for men to stop the long list of crimes and social bias against them. This commission will ensure a welfare state for men. We also need a Ministry for Men’s Welfare to draft/amend laws suitably and to bring about various government initiatives. Otherwise, 51% of the population of India is not taken care of.
***

References

1. Global expectancy of healthy life expectancy published in British Medical Journal The Lancet on December 2012.
2. Study of child abuse in India – 2007 by Ministry of Women and Child Development
3. Human Development Report by UNDP
4. http://www.realsexism.com/

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About Partha Sadhukhan

Partha Sadhukhan is an IT professional working in Bangalore, India. He is passionate about the Men's Human Rights Movement and has been working for the cause for last four years. He is a budding writer and passionate about human rights and social reforms. He can be contacted through his website or Twitter.

Via AVfM