PRESS RELEASE

Sub: Announcing December 7 as the National Stubble Day

About AIMWA:

All India Men's Welfare Association (AIMWA) is the first ever organization formed in India to fight against all kinds of discrimination against men and boys. AIMWA was launched in Hyderabad on 11^th October 2009 and has expanded to Bangalore and Chennai within two months of its launch with around 1000 members.

Background:

Gillette, the manufacturer of branded shaving products for men has come up with the idea of "Women against Lazy Stubble" wherein men not shaving, or men sporting stubble have been tagged as "lazy" and their women have every right to detest and demean them. And Gillette also tags this campaign as "Women on the warpath". This ad campaign was launched on November 7, 2009 and includes campaigns on various media channels as well.

Objections:

AIMWA perceives this campaign as outright against men and is protesting against,

1.    Violation of fundamental rights of men.

2.    Negative portrayal of men by calling them lazy.

3.    Infringement of choices by men.

4.    Unnecessary financial burden on men, and

5.    Imposing of conditions on men.

Additionally the views expressed in the "Women against Lazy Stubble" campaign and endorsed by Bollywood actresses Minisha Lamba, Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse about women's preference of shaven/stubbled men does not represent the views of the average Indian Woman. As the campaign is being promoted by Procter and Gamble and it has a commercial interest in it, there is every reason to believe the views are bought off, especially when a group of women called "Women Against Male-bashing (W.A.M)" have started the campaign called "Stop the War against Men and Boys".

The views expressed by W.A.M in their press release aptly represent the views of the average Indian woman as there is no commercial interest involved in it and is a pure expression of thoughts by the Indian women about men and their right to CHOICE. Also, the campaign ignores the umpteen researches that have been done proving it's actually the stubble in a man that attracts the woman.

A stubble is a man's right and no one has any right whatsoever to dictate when he should shave or whether he should shave even. It is completely a man's discretion whether he should remain clean-shaven or stubbled or bearded or unshaven.

By calling men who sport stubble as lazy, Gillette and its parent company Procter and Gamble have issued a Communal Hate Speech as there are enough religious minorities in India who have religious reservations against shaving and also a Gender Hate Speech against men. AIMWA strongly protests it and condemns it outright. AIMWA views the campaign as downright sexist, anti-male and one that can have many disastrous consequences for men like,

1.    This campaign will lead to more men facing more domestic violence from their wives in the form of verbal abuse, economic abuse and emotional abuse. The campaign treats MEN as FREE ATM MACHINES and promotes domestic violence against men. Domestic violence is the numero uno killer for men as corroborated by suicide statistics from the National Crime Record Bureau. Every year more than 57000 married men are ending their lives.

2.    This campaign adds to the never ending expectations, of the society in general and women in particular, from men.

3.    This campaign ignores the countless contributions that men make to the society. It disrespects the fact that the most dangerous, precarious, menial and risky jobs are not only undertaken by men but it is also de-facto expected that they would do so. And if men stop doing those dangerous and risky jobs, the society would cease to run. Rather the campaign designers have chosen an optional activity as shaving as a benchmark to measure activeness of men. It cannot get any more pathetic.

4.    This campaign encourages women to command men, which is a violation of fundamental rights of liberty granted under the Constitution of India.

5.    The campaign commoditizes men for commercial purpose which is not acceptable. Today it's shaving, tomorrow some other company might come up with some more such sexist campaigns spreading Gender Hatred in order to boost sales and it can be against anyone, men or women. This campaign is being protested against to pass a message to the Corporate World that they too have limits and they need to learn to respect them.

Why National Stubble Day:

Because stubble is a man's right and since Procter and Gamble is spreading hatred against men with stubble, AIMWA has come up with the idea of celebrating December 7 as the National Stubble Day. The members of AIMWA have decided not to shave on December 7 this year and the following years as well and urges other men to join us and strengthen the movement.

National Stubble Day is being marked to,

1.    Register AIMWA's protest against the sexist anti-male ad campaign, "Women against Lazy Stubble".

2.    Protest against commoditization of men to boost consumerism.

3.    Protest against rampant anti-male quotient in the society and unchallenged insults thrown at men treating them as second class citizens while ignoring the reality that men make some wonderful and indispensible contributions to societies and civilizations.

4.    Raising voice against promoting Domestic Violence against Men using commercially motivated sexist anti male ad campaigns.

5.    Assert a man's rights and prevent infringement of the same.

Additionally, on the occasion of National Stubble Day, AIMWA presents the following demands,

1.    Procter and Gamble to stop the "Women against Lazy Stubble" campaign immediately.

2.    They should publish a 10 cm. X 12 cm. apology for insulting men, in all leading national dailies, on either the front page or back page.

3.    Actresses Minisha Lamba, Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse should tender apologies to all men for calling them lazy and urging women to detest unshaven men.

4.    Procter and Gamble should also tender an apology for making a Gender Hate Speech, and

5.    They should give an undertaking that they will never design sexist anti-male ad campaigns in future under any circumstances.

If the above demands are not met, then AIMWA will be constrained to agitate the protest and intensify it and for that Procter and Gamble will be held responsible.

Thanks and Regards

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