Inclusion and
the HeForShe Initiative
The idea of
inclusion that Bilgi’s piece reminded me of the HeForShe initiative of the
United Nations. A solidarity movement for the development of gender equality.
The aim of the program is to include men as partners to foster gender equality.
Men speak out against negative stereotypes with the belief that gender
inequality affects people socially, economically, and politically. The program strives
for men to serve as collaborators and not to dominate the movement in the pursuit
for gender equality for their sister’s daughters and mothers.
Since the
movement started in 2014 by UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon with UN Global
Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, who hopes to raise awareness for gender
equality in the arts. There has been 2.1 million men and women who have taken
the pledge for the HeForShe initiative.
In January 2015 UN Women, which is defined as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women introduced a HeForShe initiative of Impact 10x10x10, to further gender equality and women’s empowerment at the 2015 World Economic forum in Davos. The initiative advocated for 10 world leaders,10 CEO’s and,10 university presidents to confront gender issues within their environments. Some of the NGO’s and companies that support the HeForShe movement are Price Waterhouse Coppers, the World Bank, Mckinsey & Company. Also, former President, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of Sweden, Paul Polman CEO of Unilever, Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada, and Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers Group.
The HeForShe movement clearly has a strong
following the only criticism I found was that the name of the movement excludes
non-binary
individuals. Although, the movement has been recognized for representing LGBT issues.
Some of the goals or programs HeForShe is
involved in are ending child marriage in Malawi, redefining masculinity in
Jordan, confronting gender stereotypes in Iceland. A
bicycle rally in Pune, India that challenges
society to balance genders, and talks in Cameroon for school children to make
public promises to respect their future wives.
The HeForShe movement for the most part is motivational
because it takes on many goals to end gender inequality. One of the speakers for
the arts in the movement indicated in his speech, which I found interesting,
the issue of, ‘crisis of masculinity’ as Chant and Gutmann mention. Men are
trapped in these gender normative roles in which they are unable to express
their emotions for not being the sole provider. A macho normative culture where
it is not the norm for them to show their feelings, their failures. The shame
men keep hidden inside manifest into other negative outlets or behaviors, such
as anger and fear. Throughout the talk a question resonates, ‘What does it mean
to be human?’ It is to realize that we all feel, and acknowledging these
feelings is the practice of gender equality. The HeForShe
promotes for all genders to be liberated because men and women share the same
struggles and goals in the journey of life. They are interdependent and
therefore the collaborative approach of men in development can only lead closer
to gender equality.
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3cP7_YM20
https://www.heforshe.org/en/movement
https://www.heforshe.org/en/wheels-change
https://www.heforshe.org/en/promise-healthy-tomorrow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeForShe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZptgM-jhZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnI8iNYWJjA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wm4U7kzKD4&t=62s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je2q8ZNfWnE
Rukhsana, this is an informative piece! I had never heard of the HeForShe movement before, thank you for educating me and providing extra sources to learn from.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your sentiments with regards to boys, men and masculinities, and coincidentally, I had just watched the film, The Mask you live in, which addresses the same issues.
Like you mentioned, boys are being socialized and policed into becoming men who do not express their emotions except for anger, and embrace harmful ideologies that embrace violence, over sexualization of women, power etc, at the expense of sensitivity, empathy, kindness and related virtues which becomes problematic. So, to include men and boys, and together address the toxic traits that are deeply embedded in them for their value systems to change is critical to gender equality. The earlier the subversion of harmful hegemonic masculinities starts, the better for all those under its oppression.
Also, it is high time that campaigns and discourses go beyond the male-female binary and embrace more identities since gender inequality affects all people in one way or another.
Rukhsana, Thankyou for sharing this, especially all the video links! I vividly remember when this campaign was launched in India and indeed it proved to be a great initiative to create awareness against the gendered stereotypes that perpetuate inequality between male and female. This led to the issue of gender equality being brought to the front pages and resulting in open dialogue that not only acknowledged stereotypes but also discussed potential steps to needed to tackle it. The acknowledgment of gendered stereotypes in itself is an accomplishment particularly in a society where women are still situated below men in hierarchal structures.
ReplyDeleteI specifically remember an advertisement that started playing on television during the same time that addressed stereotypes attached to men and advocated for dismantling of the hegemonic masculinity. It focused on the male stereotype of "men don't cry" which is cultivated in men from their birth and instead encourages them to teach "men don't make women cry". This ad is depicted in context of domestic violence where men is seen making a women cry by hitting her. This was one of the few advertisements that focused on men instead of concentrating on women and providing them with various women helplines number to reach out in cases of domestic violence (which seems to be a common theme). So, yes the he for she campaign was a major initiative that brought men in the discussion of gender inequality as collaborators.
On one hand, I agree with you that involving LGBTQ+ in these conversations and campaigns is vital. On the other, you have to understand that LGBTQ+ rights have been legalized in India in 2018 long after the campaign started. Also, many nations where these campaigns are undertaken (the one's mentioned in the blog) either do not recognize non-binary gender rights or are in the process of recognizing them. But yes, this campaign has proven to be successful.
Link to the ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6nPbd7MeA
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ReplyDeleteHi Rukhsana! This is an interesting topic! I agree that this initiative has helped to raise public awareness of the importance of male involvement to address gender-based violence. Yet, when I first learn about this campaign, I was intrigued by its name. Why HeforShe? for me, the name is problematic because of two reasons. First, my impression is that men help women overcome their problems, which means they are not equal. Second, the impression could be gender-based violence is a women's issue and that men come to involve to help women address it. If such a misunderstanding occurred, I am concerned that it can unintentionally strengthen the gender hierarchy between men and women.
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