When we discuss gender inequality and discrimination, it's critical to remember that men and women can confront different obstacles and types of discrimination in society. While women have historically been the focus of gender discrimination talks due to their long-standing disadvantage in many sectors, it is important to recognize that men can also endure forms of unfairness and discrimination.

• Is there really gender equality in our society?
• Whenever we think about this question, the first answer that comes to our mind is no and we always give this answer in favor of women, but have we ever thought that there is another section in this society and they too sometimes face inequality and crime which we easily ignore?
• We frequently hear about crimes against women. Have we ever had a meaningful discussion about crimes against men? Do you believe that crimes against males do not occur, or that we have chosen not to address this issue in our society?
• Is it necessary to weigh the crime based on gender every time? Can't we make decisions by keeping the crime, criminal, and victim out of the scope of gender?
• When domestic violence against a woman is a crime then if the same domestic violence happens against men then how does it become a question of their masculinity?
• So how can we say that there is gender equality in our society?

How false cases and gender discrimination spoil men's lives

Only a man can be held liable for cruelty or violence towards his wife under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. However, there is no legal provision in the legislation that deems a woman liable for domestic abuse.

Tariq, an instrumentation engineer who recently joined the Borivali company, claims that his wife wanted them to move out and live apart from his parents soon after they married. He refused, and they split up. First, she filed a lawsuit against him under the Domestic Violence Act. This 2006 act aims to protect wives from physical and mental harassment. It is a quasi-civil proceeding, and the husband is usually not arrested. On the other hand, Tariq's wife slapped 498a on him six months ago. He, his mother, and his brother were arrested late at night by the police. He claims he is not being requested to resolve the dispute through a mediator." Yeh jo cheez hai, yeh bandar ko mashaal dee gayi hai ki jao apna ghar jaleo," he says (These laws are like handing a light to a monkey and telling him to go burn down his own house).[i]

We all know what happened in the Bois Locker Room case, in this case, both boys and girls were involved, but this crime is also weighed based on gender. Boys were spoken ill of, although girls had also posted photos of boys and made indecent comments, but they were ignored. Not only this, Manav Singh, a 17-year-old boy, committed suicide because a girl had falsely accused him of sexual exploitation.[ii]

If oppression can happen to women then it can also happen to men. Society will have to accept that men's manhood cannot be destroyed by accepting the atrocities committed on them and seeking help

from justice, society will have to accept that a man is also a human being and he also feels pain, only then we be able to bring gender equality in society.

India's current sexual harassment laws:

In 2017, the case of Vijay Nair came into limelight[iii]. Vijay Nair, who was the CEO of a company, was cyberstalked by a woman, and not only this, she later stalked his friends, his office friends, and his family too. At first, people thought that there must be a man behind this matter, later when they came to know that a woman was behind it, they were shocked. However, the woman l later said that someone had forced her to do this work and she had no evidence to prove it.

The thinking of our society is that only women can be victims and only men can be perpetrators, even today our society does not accept men as victims. Although in IPC Section 354 (D) (2) it is said that if any person stalks someone then he will be punished for three years, but then in the first section there is only the safety of women is discussed and there is no single clause which specifies the laws for safety of men in this condition. This raises many questions about the safety of men.

In India, many laws have been made for the safety of women, but no separate law has been made for men that can protect them from the injustice being done to them and this has become the biggest question for Indian law till now.

To protect women, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013, sections 354, 375, and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, among others, have been enacted. For example, Section 354 of the IPC criminalizes assault or the use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to offend her modesty.

Other sections of the IPC include section 354A which talks about sexual harassment committed by a man against a woman, section 354B talks about punishment for intent to disrobe a woman, section 354C talk about voyeurism, section 354D talks about stalking, section 375 talk criminalizes rape of a woman by a man, and section 509 talk about word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. All these laws specifically only talk about the safety of women.

It would be better if laws were made only on the basis of people instead of bringing gender in between.

Cases that prove that men can also be victims:

• There is the case from the year 2018, in IIT Bombay, a senior male student sexually assaulted a junior male student and later when the matter went to the Dean, more incidents came to light. But no serious action was taken against him. According to the specific allegation, a senior student has been inappropriately touching male students and making them feel uncomfortable in hostel rooms.
   
• Sarvjeet and Jasleen Kaur got into a fight on August 23, 2015, and Jasleen threatened him with severe repercussions. She then posted on Facebook, accusing Sarvjeet of molestation and threatening her with severe repercussions. People reacted almost promptly to the accusation, without even properly analyzing the matter. Sarvjeet was exonerated of the allegations after four years of suffering. However, no action was taken against Jasleen.According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), around 74% of rape cases under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code result in acquittal of the accused.
   
• Vishnu was punished under the Sak/Sat Act for raping a Dalit girl in the year 2000. After serving 20 years of imprisonment, he was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on the grounds that it was a false case. While acquitting him, the Allahabad High Court said that there was some "materially erred" from the side of the trial court when he was convicted for the offense.

Now the question arises in which court should they appeal for the injustice done to them. Does our law have any way to compensate for the injustice done to them?

Conclusion
Under Article 14 of our Constitution, right and equality have been talked about. When we hear about such cases, we are forced to think whether our society really gives importance to this part of the Constitution or all these are just words written in books. Now the time has come when we have to understand that men can also stand up for their rights and atrocities can also happen to them. A man can also feel pain and he can accept that he is in pain.

A man can also be raped and he can also go to court for this injustice. Only then we will truly understand the concept of the right to equality.

End-Notes:

1. Madhavankutty Pillai, The Harassed Husbands of India, OPEN, 30 Dec 2012, https://openthemagazine.com/features/living/the-harassed-husbands-of-india/
2. Sumedha, Bois Locker Room case: Girl faces trial for abetment to suicide over Instagram post, INDIA TODAY, 25 March 2021, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bois-locker-room-girl-trial-abetment-suicide-instagram-post-1783485-2021-03-25
3. Naina N, Spine-chilling story of how Vijay Nair was cyberstalked by a woman, asianet newsable, 16 May 2017, https://newsable.asianetnews.com/technology/vijay-nair-cyber-stalking-story
4. https://tfipost.com/2021/02/man-spends-20-years-in-jail-under-false-rape-charges-under-sc-st-act/
5. https://www.oneworldnews.com/lifestyle/domestic-sexual-violence/
6. https://www.news18.com/news/india/domestic-violence-against-men-high-time-government-addressed-the-problem-1004785.html
7. https://juriscentre.com/2021/05/17/domestic-violence-against-men-in-india/