Men Engage Workshop at Sahil

What is Men Engage?

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) helped set in motion the need to engage boys and men in promoting gender equality.

It is also evident that boys and men are willing to participate in actions to further gender equality by changing traditional and rigid attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate gender inequalities.

The success and importance of these program initiatives has led to a growing interest in adapting this work in settings throughout the world. 

MenEngage -- A Global Alliance to Engage Men and Boys in Gender Equality and Ending Violence. The Alliance is involved in an array of research, interventions, and policy initiatives seeking to engage men and boys in effective ways to reduce gender inequalities and promote health and the well-being of women, men and girls and boys and for promoting caring fatherhood.  

The organizing members of MenEngage include EngenderHealth, Instituto Promundo, Save the Children Sweden, Sahayog, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.  

What does MenEngage do?

MenEngage implements three complementary strategies:

   1) Advocacy and policy
   2) A learning and leadership network
   3) Resource sharing.

Each strategy is developed through a consultative process with MenEngage members.  

MenEngage in Pakistan

The Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development (MoLG&RD), Government of Pakistan (GoP) with the support from UNDP and its cost-sharing partners is implementing Gender Justice Through Musalihat Anjuman Project (GJTMAP).  

It is a novel Project with the goal to assist women and other vulnerable sections of society in improving their conditions. Considering that the institutional safeguards offered by the formal justice sector institutions have not been able to perform their role. 

Gender Justice Project is working in partnership with the four Provincial Governments and selected CSOs partners in this area since 2005 in 20 selected districts.  

Sahil’s Alliance with GJTMAP

Sahil joined Menengage movement in 2007 and organized a three days workshop in collaboration with GJTMAP on 12 – 14 Feb, 2008 in Islamabad. The objectives of this workshop were:  

• To increase knowledge on addressing root causes of gender based

• Violence against girls, women, boys and other men in Pakistan.

• To share the strategies, tools, experiences and learning from the past many 
  years

• Work to develop a common understanding and way forward to work with men and
  boys to end gender based violence.

• To develop an action plan for working with men and boys to enhance men and
  boys engagement in addressing violence against girls, women and boys.

 Men Engage Training at Sahil’s Referral Units

Sahil implemented the training in its Referral Units; Sukkur, Abbotabad, Jaffarabad and Usta Muhammad. A total of 159 participants were sensitized during the training from youth forums, national and local NGO’s staff members, district support group and volunteers. 

All the participants committed to share the goals and responsibilities of the workshop in the following ways:

•  Raise awareness on the Gender Based Violence and articles of Child Rights
   Convention (CRC) among people of their community, gatherings and schools etc.
   to reduce practices of violence.
   

•  To develop a mechanism for implementation of trainings in their locality.
   

•  Follow up of trainings on monthly basis.
   

•  Be proactive-stop being a silent spectator to violence.
   

•  Challenge persistence notions of masculinity and condemn violence.