PRESS RELEASE

Sub: SIFF celebrating International Men’s Day on 19^th Nov 2008 with a bike rally.

Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), the single largest group of NGOs dedicated to promote the cause of Gender Equality and Family Harmony in India, is celebrating International Men’s Day on 19^th November 2008 in Bangalore. A bike rally is organized on the Outer Ring Road from Bellandur Gate to Madivala post from 1: 30 PM to 3: 00 PM. At least 30 bikers are expected to participate in the rally and express their solidarity. The rally is being organized as a mark of tribute to:-

1. The great inventions that men have made over the past several thousand years to make technological advances and reduce communicational and organizational latencies.
2. The sacrifices that men have made over the past several thousand years for either running their households or the country or its defenses or by undertaking the most risky jobs. The lives that men laid down for the sake of martyrdom are often gone unheard and unsung.
3. And the issues that men in general and Indian men in particular have been facing and that have sadly fallen on deaf ears so far like:-

a. Today, the expectations from men by the family and society have touched the roof. A man is expected and often demanded to provide luxuries to his family, take care of parents and also in-laws. Men are forced not only to spend all the money that they earn and but also are forced to take huge loans to provide for luxurious apartments, diamond necklaces and costly cars.

b. The domestic abuse and family disputes are taking a huge toll on married men’s minds. No one shares their pain, grief and there is no social support system for these distressed men.

c. Men, who commit suicide, are often ridiculed as being weak and irresponsible and this arguments is used to deny any support or counseling to men. Moreover there is no acceptance of the fact that a large number of men are victims of domestic violence as apparent from the fact that in the last 10 years 1, 50, 000 married men have committed suicide.

Here are some figures just indicative of the grim situation men in India are facing currently with no redressal mechanism in sight.

1. As per the Labor and Employment ministry more than 13 lakh men have lost their jobs in the five years span of 2001 to 2005.
2. As per suicide statistics provided by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), for the years 2005 and 2006, more than 52,483 and 55,452 married men, respectively, have committed suicide as opposed to 28,188 and 29,869 married women. Whenever a married woman dies due to any reason, be it accident, illness or commits suicide due to any reason unknown, it is converted into dowry death and yet such large scale suicides by men are not even noticed let alone imparting justice to them.
3. As per NCRB records, in the year 2005, more than 2,264,000 crimes have been registered against men (which are 92.8% of total registered crimes) but still this fact has never been highlighted in media reports.
4. Men in India are responsible for 82% of taxes, yet not a single rupee is spent for men’s welfare despite the fact that 192 men are ending their lives daily.
5. More than 98% of men have faced Domestic Violence at some point of time in their lives at the hands of their wives and in-laws in terms of verbal abuse, physical abuse, economical abuse, relationship cheating, and mental harassment on an average in 3 years of marriage.
6. More than 22,000 men have ended their lives in reverse dowry harassment by their wives, either being forced to accept dowry or because of a threat of filing a false dowry harassment case.
7. Men pay more taxes than women at the same salary levels.
8. False allegations should they be related to dowry harassment, sexual harassment, relationship cheating or any other form of social abuse, has become a norm to be used as a tool against any man by the unscrupulous women, supported and pampered by the society, to realize their vexatious designs or hide their own follies / crimes.
9. All the gender neutral laws under IPC have a clause of punishment for abusers of those laws, whereas there is no such clause in any of the women centric laws, which is a clear violation of the article 14 of the Indian Constitution and discrimination against the male gender.
10. Adultery is a crime for Indian men but not for women, which also depicts direct discrimination against men.

Last year Save Indian Family Foundation and its associate NGO’s had celebrated men’s day with their demands. As those demands have fallen on deaf ears and men have been left high and dry, those demands are again repeated this year. Save Indian Family Foundation, on International Men’s Day demands that:

1. A separate Men’s Welfare Ministry and a National Commission of Men should be setup to specifically cater to the men’s issues in the country.
2. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and Domestic Violence Act should be suitably modified to accommodate cruelty and Domestic Violence against men as well so that the aggrieved men can also make complaints under the laws and get appropriate and suitable relief.
3. Large scale suicides of men should be viewed seriously and suitable measures be taken to contain and prevent the same.
4. Suicides of husbands within seven years of marriage should be considered as “death due to cruelty” and Section 113A and 113B of The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 should be suitably modified to accommodate the same.
5. Men should be provided with unemployment benefits and every unemployed man should be given at least Rs. 600/- per month till employment.
6. Men should not be forced to work for more than 9 hours in office and after office work they should not be expected to lend their helping hand in domestic chores as well, because there should be a limit to expectations from a man and an acceptance of limitations of a man.
7. University Grants Commission should sponsor studies for disciplines dedicated to men as 82% of the taxes are paid by men.
8. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting should ban anti-male advertisements in Television displaying physical, financial and verbal abuse on men, especially by women.
9. Single men should have right to adopt a child.
10. Prevention of “male child labor” and rehabilitation of these child laborers.
11. Punishment to wife and her parents, who drive married men to suicide by threats, extortion, monetary demands, violence and torture. Life of married men is as valuable as a married woman. No one has a right to drive a man or woman to suicide by extortion or cruelty.
12. Article 51 A (e) of the Indian Constitution be suitably modified to contain “and men” at the end of the sentence. Presently it stands as,

“To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;” which needs to be modified to

“To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women and men;”

Save Indian Family Foundation feels proud to launch its helpline for men trapped in false sexual harassment cases and unwarranted departmental actions initiated against them on frivolous complaints as we have received quite some complaints in that area. The helpline numbers are 9880763790 and 9449835612.

Save Indian Family Foundation is also happy to announce its international association with other international men’s rights organizations like Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation, Australia. We share our concerns with them regarding contributions and sacrifices men have made to the world so far.

With an ending note it is imperative to mention here that if the Government fails to recognize the issues of men and does not provide any redressal mechanism, the agitations against the government are only going to increase.

Thanks and Regards

Virag
Public Relations Officer
Save Indian Family Foundation

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