From: [email protected] To: http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=INTERNATIONAL-W-MENS-DAY-Support-gender-equality-church-04032015009039 Mar 04 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY - Support gender equality, church tells menfolkBella JaisinghaniMumbai:Last Sunday , a musical play at St John's Church in Thane divided the audience before bringing them back to common ground.The main characters, a couple named Hiru and Sheena, were engaged in a spirited debate over the need for women's liberation. He recalled the “good old days where women cooked and cleaned and knew their place“, wondering why they needed to vote when they had fathers and husbands to provide for them. She, in turn, was exasperated at the servitude women have suffered. The show marked the launch of a month-long Women's Day initiative. Several groups, led by the Catholic Church, have come together to celebrate a series named `She & He' which says men's participation is essential to achieve gender equality . The musical was devised by Marcia D'Cunha, executive secretary of the Archdiocesan Women's Commission. It will be staged at St Stanislaus School in Bandra on March 8 and St Joseph's, Mira Road on March 15. “Men feel threatened as women become empowered because they are prisoners of gender stereotype. Our motivation is to ensure they don't hamper the process, and make them realise that they benefit from an equal relationship,“ says organiser Astrid Lobo Gajiwala. On March 20, Dr Sudeep Gupta, Astrid and their team at Tata Memorial Hospital will draft a meet-up of female cancer patients and their husbands. “We will address a session on the insecurity and loss of self-image that women patients undergo.Some are thrown out of their homes, others are forced to use separate utensils because families believe cancer is contagious,“ says Devieka Bhojwani, who helms the Women's Cancer Initiative at Tata Memorial. St Xavier's College students are producing documentaries and photo essays that show the complementary roles of men and women. Sophia College will also participate in the initiative.
