Wednesday 19 November 2014

International Men's Day - Is It Really Necessary?

Why should they not have a day?If having an International Men’s Day will:
  • Foster greater respect for themselves and for women
  • Engender compassion, caring and greater understanding of the world
  • Allow them time to introspect and reflect on their role in the family and communities
then I am all for an International Men’s Day.

The rest of the hours is this day is being celebrated in approximately 60 countries in the world as this special day for men. According to Wikipedia: 

“International Men's Day (IMD) is an annual international event celebrated on 19 November. Inaugurated in 1992 as 07 February by Prof Thomas Oaster, the project was re-initialised in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago.  The longest running celebration of International men's day is Malta, where events have occurred since 07 February 1994.International Men's Day, now standardised globally as 19 November finds support from a variety of individuals and groups in Australia, the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Speaking on behalf of UNESCO, Director of Women and Culture of Peace Ingeborg Breines said of IMD, ‘This is an excellent idea and would give some gender balance.’”

Whether a greater level of gender balance was achieved through the celebrations this year remains to be seen. I for one have no issue with men having a day set aside for things other sports, war and cutthroat competitions.

Not everyone shares this view – you might be one. Share it here with me or on our Facebook page.

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