(1)Huffington Post blog by Nikki van der Gaag; (2)IDS Interactions dialogue between Amel Fahmy and Nikki van der Gaag/Joni van de Sand

Huffington Post Blog
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea?: A Feminist Argument for Engaging Men in Gender Equality
by Nikki van der Gaag

Excerpt:

I seem to spend a lot of time talking and writing about men these days. Which is perhaps a little weird for a longtime feminist. And I sometimes think I can never get it right.

I recently did a Tedx talk entitled 'Why feminism needs men and why men need feminism'. Controversial perhaps, but certainly not anti-men. I knew about online trolling, but I wasn't expecting such a barrage of misogyny and plain misinterpretation of what I had said.

Then there are some of my feminist friends, who are much more intelligent than the trolls and much more polite, but who basically think that engaging with men is a waste of time.

I have spent most of my life working on women's and girls' rights and I continue to argue strongly against the violence, discrimination and abuse that are still all too common.

But in the last few years I have become increasingly convinced that unless we as feminists engage with men and boys, things will only change so far - and they may even go backwards. Which is why I wrote my book Feminism and Men. And why I have been working with people in organisations, groups and campaigns that are trying to involve men in work on gender equality. For example, the White Ribboncampaign of men against violence against women, Instituto Promundo, which began by working with young men in Brazilian favelas and continues to work on social norms in many parts of the world, Sonke Gender Justice, which works against violence and for a more equal society for all in South Africa, and the MenCare campaign that aims to get more men involved in the home…

Read the entire Huffington Post blog here.

Institute of Development Studies Interactions Dialogue
Engaging men and boys toward gender justice: my ‘aha’ moment
By Amel Fahmy with responses by Nikki van der Gaag and Joni van de Sand

Excerpt:

In 2014, I was asked by TEDx Cairo to give a talk on street sexual harassment in Egypt. I was excited about this opportunity as my message would reach thousands of people in Egypt and I might be able to convince some to join the fight against sexual harassment and become agents of change.

 I started my talk by asking the audience to imagine/reflect on the way women walk in the streets and compare it to the way men walk in the street. Egyptian women present in the public streets are always alert in fear and anticipation of sexual harassment, where most of them (99.3 per cent) experience sexual harassment (UN Women 2013).

 During my talk, female audience members were nodding and smiling, while the males were noticeably uncomfortable, (pressing hands, grim features etc. Later, after my talk I was approached by many women who congratulated me and expressed appreciation for highlighting this wide spread violation they experience on daily basis. On the other hand, no men approached me to comment or discuss the talk…

Read the entire IDS Interactions dialogue  here.