Men against Violence and Abuse ‘Breaking the Gender Binaries’

Shivanee Thote

Pune, 27 January 2020: Men against Violence and Abuse (MAVA) members presented street play ‘Breaking the Gender Binaries’ performed by the student volunteers.

Speaking to the Punekarnews.in, Pravin Thote, Project Coordinator,MAVA Mumbai, said,” If there is a place to listen to the women, then there should also be a place to resolve our issues. MAVA is an organization to deconstruct masculinity. The masculinity, patriarchy, and flawed dispersion of power are harmful to both the genders. It is a setback for society as a whole. Yesterday we celebrated the Lok Shahi celebration at S.M. Joshi Foundation, Fergusson College, H.V. Desai College, and Vidyanchal High School.”

The play revolves around challenging existing gender binary, the status quo and the stereotypes which not only limit an individual but also force them, to follow the same set of patterns that have been set by the patriarchal society.

He further added, “Such patterns or what we call in our street play needs to be broken and only then we can aim for a gender just and equal society.”

Breaking the Gender Binaries play is focused on the termination of a gender’s dominance over others. It aims at reshaping society as an unbiased place to live for all the genders, any gender can be a victim of violence and abuse.

MAVA Foundation believes that the engagement of men in promoting women empowerment and standing against violence and abuse as ‘stakeholders’ or ‘participants’ will add required support to the cause.

They believe that men are not genetically designed to be aggressive or dominant over women, society pressures them into this behavior.

Volunteers and members of the MAVA foundation have been engaging in light conversations with students about gender neutral behavior and equality.