A Talent Hunt Competition was organized during the 10th National Conference on Men Rights at Varanasi. The three day conference was organized during 11th August to 13th August 2018, by the Daaman Welfare Society, under the aegis of Save Indian Family Movement (SIF), the umbrella organization of the Men’s Rights Activists and groups in India.
Nithin P Kadam of SIF – Karnataka was the winner of the contest for his presentation on the topic ‘Connecting with masses and making men's rights a cause for all, not restricted to few’. He laid emphasis on expanding the scope and reach of men’s rights movement (MRM). Presently the MRM is limited to a select few people and the larger masses are not aware of the movement or its activities per se. Kadam talked about the need and relevance of MRM in the changing social order and strategies to connect with the masses.
Anand Ramkumar of Vaastav Foundation, Mumbai stood the first runner up for his presentation on the topic ‘Activism for special events - Strategy and best practices’. He outlined the strategy to develop catch points for the masses to get attracted to the MRM. For the purpose Ramkumar suggested that the MRM could be highlighted and showcased to the people on certain special occasions like festivals and cultural events. These are times when large number of people can be connected to in less time and by spending lesser energy.
Jaynath Sisodiya of SIF – Gujarat, stood second runner up for his presentation on the topic, ‘Why false cases are not MRM but a small part of it?’ It has been a long felt need of the entire MRM to come out of the public perception of being a harassed – husband’s club. Time again the need for it has been expressed. It may be possibly due to the large number of reported cases coming from the matrimonial space. Sisodiya stressed the need to take-up other important issues such as men’s health, adoption rights, reproductive rights and property rights in the main stream of activism.
Chanchal Patle of Gender Equality Organisation, Nagpur, Amarjeet Singh of Pati Pariwar Kalyan Samiti, Lucknow, Shobhit Garg of SIF, Agra, Dr. Vaibhav Gupta from SIF – Bareilly, Ravi Mehra of SIF – Chandigarh and Abhishek Verma of SIF – Delhi also participated in the contest.