November 19 is celebrated as International Men’s Day. The day is significant in raising awareness around men’s health, throws light on their contributions and accomplishments, and also encourages them to set the right example for society. Actor Aadesh Chaudhary speaks on International Men’s Day.
“I am glad that we celebrate Men’s day in today’s era. Being a man, I have always seen that the world is quite unfair toward us. There is still a gender stigma and less acceptance. Men are expected to achieve the great heights of success but nobody sees how hard they work to achieve even the smallest things in life. I honestly feel that the world needs to talk more about men’s mental health and well-being,” he says.
There is an opinion that there is much hype around Women’s Day but Men’s day at times does not get recognised.
“I agree with this point that we all have been celebrating Women’s Day but people hardly know that something like Men’s Day also exists. This shows that we are not fulfilling our duties of respecting both genders equally. We must celebrate men and women in our lives and make them feel loved and valued,” he adds.
Women express themselves and also talk about their emotions whereas men do not express much. For ages, we have been hearing that men don’t cry.
“As a man, it is hard to express your emotions, because men are constantly afraid of being judged by society. We are expected to be strong even in the worst conditions. If we try to express ourselves, people fail to accept us. Societal expectations, upbringing, and cultural norms can influence people’s comfort levels with expressing emotions, regardless of their gender,” he continues, “Men do cry” but only in front of those who are close to them and won’t judge them for crying. Men are literally told since childhood that they should not cry like girls. I want to raise a question to those who say such things to the young boys. I feel sorry for the young boys who are not allowed to cry or not given a safe space to express themselves.”
