MoM must not keep mum

Oct 31, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News- Why is it that when women are attacked, there are individuals and groups which take the moral high ground and demand action against the alleged perpetrators? But when men are not a tweet can be heard from these same groups and individuals.

A number of individuals and groups have come out against the feral blast of the former Guyana High Commissioner to India. He used obscene words to an animal rights activist in India.

But where were these individuals and groups when women were attacked, beaten and robbed during the disturbances in West Coast Berbice in 2020 following the deaths of two teenagers from that area? Where was the condemnation against the attacks perpetrated on innocent women?

Is it a case that indignation is only expressed when there is political capital to be had? Is partisanship rather than principle dictating when some groups and individuals speak out on violence against women?

What about when men are attacked and abused? How come there is no condemnation of such actions by the said usual suspects?

We know for example that during the melee in the National Assembly in December last year, certain insulting remarks were hurled at a member of the National Assembly. How come the usual suspects did not call then for the alleged insulter to be recalled from the National Assembly? What is it because he was a man or was it the political membership of the alleged insulter that led to the muzzling of the usual suspects?

It cannot be claimed that the reason for the silence is because the insults were protected by parliamentary privilege. The Opposition is of the opinion that because the MACE was not in place that the Assembly was not in session, and therefore any alleged insults during such an occurrence cannot be said to be protected by privilege, unlike the ‘dildo remark’ which was made during a debate.

If the issue is gender – that is if the usual suspects only feel compelled to voice condemnations when women are allegedly abused – then the newly formed Men on Mission (MoM) should take cognizance of this and become the voice of abused men.

For far too long the scales have been tipped against men. Men are lambasted and even lampooned when it comes to their treatment or lack of respect for women. But what about when men are taken for granted? What about when they are assaulted or abused? What about when they are called derogatory names when all they are trying to do is execute their jobs in a professional manner?

Who is going to speak up and speak for these men? It is time men change the lopsided manner in which gender issues are addressed. If organizations and individuals are going to be selective when it comes to women issues, then men’s organizations should rise to the occasion and defend the interests of men.

The President of Guyana has established a movement called Men on Mission. Its purpose reportedly is to address the concerns of men. The manner in which the President spoke at the launch of MoM suggested that he was saying that men have let the ball drop, that they have been irresponsible and that they should change that.

But what about the other side of the equation? What about those times when men are on the receiving end? What about when the problems of women are laid at the feet of men? What about when we are told that the system is machismo and paternalistic and that it is men’s power which are at the heart of the problems facing women?

Men are not the only ones at fault. In fact, men are often at the receiving end of abuse and assault by women and there is nothing they can do about it.

The time has come to counterbalance the narrative of gender relations. Men must begin to speak up for men. They must not neglect to speak out against men who commit wrongs against women and other men. However, they must equally be prepared to speak out on developments where men are unfairly on the receiving end.

This is the litmus test as to whether MoM should be taken seriously. MoM must move beyond seeing men as being solely responsible for the present problems facing men. It must move beyond viewing men as villains without recognizing that they are also victims.

MoM must stand up and be a standout for men. It should expose the hypocrisy of those who are quick to jump up and condemn men for actions against women but do not do the same when the roles are reversed.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not this newspaper.)

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