It's not just physical assault | What should and should not boys do

In the aftermath of the recent horrific incident at Kolkata, many women have come out in social media expressing their pain and anguish and the constant fear they have to live with surrounded by men in public places. As a reaction to that, many men have come out stating that not all men are like that. We have to take a step back and try to appreciate the sense in which the women are expressing their anguish.

There are a number of things men and boys need to be mindful of:

1. How they speak, what language they use, and the conversations they have
2. The boundaries while having playful banter
3. The problem of male gaze - staring, objectifying
4. Inappropriateness during physical interactions

Disclaimer: I am a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT Kharagpur. However, the views expressed in this video are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my Department or my Institute.

#jc #Boys SafeSpace

[farehaaslam]

Today's generation men speaks like anything in the name of dark humor, this need to be changed

[palakmalik]

You aren't just a great professor but indeed a great men too!
Kudos to you, gentlemen! ♡

[netaji]

I was in 5th standard when the innocent boy within me died in an attempt to fit into a group of brats I called friends. I am 12th pass now and a jee dropper. I will make the necessary changes in me. Surprised how I allowed myself to deteriorate for seven whole years.

[FrontiersinIndiasPublicH-ywje]

Do such nobel men exist? Wondered to see you Prof. You have protected your soul ! Respect.

[ithas_noname]

Well Said, Sir!
It's hard to see this kind of "language" being used by girls as well. Things have been pretty normalized and assumed to sound "cool" but in reality, they are just degrading themselves and those around them. Saying this as a 4th year at IITKGP.

[MuskanSingh-gdlq]

Respected sir,
Being a girl myself, this horrific incident has shook me from inside . Even my parents are very disturbed by this incident .
It is very important for us to stand against these barbaric incident and govt. should also take some strict action otherwise these kind of violence against women will keep happening.
Thank You so much professor for raising your voice and making this video .

[FrontiersinIndiasPublicH-ywje]

How light I felt after hearing you Prof. So, men can infact sense these inadequacies.

[BadAss_]

I assure you nothing is going to change. After Nirbhaya in Delhi in 2012, I myself went out, campaigned and did whatnot. What did it bring ? A big null or zero. Political vultures will keep playing hypocritic games and start shouting when the blame is on someone else and not themselves.
Corruption and nepotism are at their peak today. Every exm’s sanctity is down the drain. 7 Lakh 30 thousand left India for abroad last year for studies. It’s time to hang our heads in shame as Indians.

[Skurmushy]

dang this is actually impressive. to be honest, most older men around me (my dad, some uncles and my neighbors) have ignored this and for some reason dont want to educate the smaller children about patriarchy and misogyny, and that feels very weird to me. As far as i can understand, my dad still thinks he is "higher" than my mom even if he is a neet, trying to shut her mouth whenever shes trying to voice an opinion(shes the breadwinner of the family and a respected professor), and that shocks me a lot.

What i could infer from this is that many middle aged men and older men tend to claim that women have an equal share of the blame since they apparently tempted the men, almost as if they are asking for "it", by wearing clothes that beat the conventional stereotype of "womanly clothing". But seeing people like you talk about this behaviour and give genuinely good suggestions to mitigate the problem or atleast decrease the scale of sexism by taking a few progressive steps makes me feel like theres still some hope left in this country.

Thank you for the video sir, we all appreciate your willingness to call the behaviour out. wishing you all the best.

[parijatsutradhar]

This is the most relatable yet professional discussion on the topic of women safety in the lesser focused yet more predominant domain, especially in the context of colleges. Thank you, sir for speaking on these topics.

[harshwithtruth]

Sir, I promise you that I will try my best to never make a woman feel uncomfortable.

[PavanKumar-pgsg]

I appreciate your effort to bring this out Prof Chakraborty. This is much needed. 🙏

[divyanshipathakm]

You don't know what you're contributing to the society by these primary accomplishable steps for all of us as students, as we're not aware about where to start these mindset reforms so as to not getting these horrific incidents repeated.
As a girl myself, thankyou for emphasising on this cause and we need more men like you !
Huge respect to you prof.🙏

[rishikadubey]

Everyone has to understand this. I have been trying to explain same thing to my male counterpart who has been feeling attacked. Some of my friends from IIT itself had shared what kind of talks happen in mess and how unapologetically boys there discuss about some certain body parts of girls who are none other than their classmates and other known ones. I was shocked and very hurt to know this but this was even more scary to hear because most of those academically bright students will hold prominent societal positions. Where are we heading towards? Thank you sir for making this video. I have shared this video with everyone as the last hope to make them understand.

[suchismitakar]

JC has spoken. Will share this..i am not even in engg but a stem postgraduate and phd dropout and religiously listen to all your videos.

[shashankprasad]

Good Parenting is most important now a days....

[Sumit_Singh]

We are just grateful professor that someone talk on this .Since now we are in the college we will create a better environment for girls than today and try to implement these into actions.I will also these videos to my friends..

[jagannathck]

A real teacher whether at medical or engineering or any other stream at any level should not forget that he / she is also a teacher for the society as a whole. A teacher is a builder of a good society. Propellers of your video are directed towards that building. I, being the father, is very much happy with you for your little effort to inculcate a very important lesson among the students.

[sundernarayan]

I am really glad that you made this video. It is the need of the hour. The concept of education is not just about learning the subject but the overall development of one's personality and that includes how you present yourself in a society. You are right that where the numbers are skewed, the onus is on the majority section to make sure that the minority section feels safe. Especially in core engineering groups where boys far outnumber the girls. You are also right that how you behave in private will spill over to your public behaviour. The concepts like ethics and morality need to be imparted to the students. And finally, I would say Chivalry is still an attribute which is much valued even today and will always be.

[ankitbhattacharjee_iitkgp]

I hope that every boy protects every girl and not only his own loved ones. You obtain infinite aura when a girl feels safe around you, be it your own sister or someone else's.

Happy Rakhi.