Brave Men Campaign: ‘Real Men’ fight for equality

When we think about women’s rights, a stereotypical image of protests, conferences and meetings led by women often come to mind. But can we imagine hundreds of school-going boys taking to the streets, expressing their pledge to prevent violence against women (VAW) and girls? Not only that – imagine them visiting every household in their village and encouraging their neighbours to end gender-based violence. This revolutionary picture can be seen in many of the villages of Pabna, Sirajganj and Natore districts of Bangladesh. 

It is the outcome of Dr. Sayed Saikh Imtiaz’s BraveMen Campaign (BMC), an action research that tries to develop the most effective strategies to end VAW involving young men and boys in schools. The campaign is being run by Dr. Imtiaz’s team at the Centre for Men and Masculinities Studies (CMMS) in more than 50 schools in rural areas and also in Dhaka.