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Culture & Religion —

Delhi Men Publicly Apologize To Delhi Women

Although only 50 or so participants appeared at the all-male event, its sponsors feel it's a small step towards changing gender attitudes in an India fractured by recent violent attacks on women.

What’s the Latest Development?

This past weekend, men from two Delhi-based groups — India for Integrity and Delhi Bikers — met at a popular protest ground site in the city of New Delhi to offer what they called “a public apology from Delhi men to Delhi women” as a gesture towards changing sexist attitudes and violence towards women. One participant, Paul Narjinary, said he wanted to serve as an example: “If hard core bikers can humble themselves and respect women, other men will start realizing that their own attitudes need to change.” The event took place just over a week after the local observance of International Women’s Day drew a higher-than-expected number of men.

What’s the Big Idea?

India for Integrity co-founder Jonathan Abraham said that during the protests spurred by the December 2012 gang rape and subsequent death of a New Delhi woman, “no one was asking ‘How can I change and make Delhi better and respect women more?’…We get messages on our Facebook page asking why men needed to apologize and saying women should change what they’re wearing.” One participant, Sanjay Kumar, saw the demonstration and decided to join on the spot. He said, “This [protest] was different…it’s really important for men to start by saying sorry.”

Photo Credit: By Nilroy (Nilanjana Roy) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Read it at The Wall Street Journal

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