November 19 is celebrated globally as International Men’s Day. The day recognises and celebrates the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men, as per Wikipedia. It also aims at highlighting basic awareness towards male issues. Time and again, it has been seen that men hardly express their emotions as openly as women do. In fact, many feel men are secretive too. MS World International Ambassador Priya Paramita Paul shares her viewpoint.
“One thing about men that I have learnt when I was in college doing my engineering is that whenever there is something wrong with women or something which she doesn’t like she just expresses it, talks it out or cries. But for men, I really appreciate that they don’t express themselves. They have that quality of not expressing themselves, especially at places where they need to operate in a composed manner. This is something that I have been trying to learn from men about how not to cry, especially during difficult days. Men just take the stand even though they are hurt or feeling sad. I really appreciate men taking a stand when required, making sure that they don’t give up and also take necessary action,” she says.
Priya encourages men to express themselves whenever and wherever they are hurt. “It’s not always necessary to shed tears, but crying is a healing process. There are women like me who appreciate men who are balanced. Those who are vulnerable where it is required as well as take actions in a composed manner in other situations,” she adds.
She also shares that we need to understand the right and wrong when it comes to gender equality. “I would like to make a statement that ‘not every woman is a victim and not every man is a victimiser, it can go the other way round as well’. So please choose your man wisely,” she says.
