Farhan urges youth to push dialogue on gender violence

Mumbai, May 30 Farhan Akhtar has always been vocal about his MARD initiative. And, on Tuesday, he launched a new campaign under its aegis. He wishes to combat the problem of gender-based violence.
The full form of MARD is Men Against Rape and Discrimination. Farhan took to Facebook and launched a competition across colleges in the country. The campaign will be led by the Population Foundation of India. The campaign has been titled ‘Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya – Enough is Enough’. It will be a filmmaking competition.
“Violence Against Women and Girls is a shameful violation of human rights that our nation should not and must not condone. I call upon our youth to participate in ‘Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya’ campaign and create a new age of dialogue on the subject of gender violence,” Farhan said in a statement.
“I hope such student solidarity will grasp the attention of our nation and its leaders. I am very keen to understand how our youth are going to interpret the subject in the films they make. I implore the leaders of tomorrow to be the change today and proactively participate in this campaign,” he added.
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Feroz Abbas Khan, who has partnered with Farhan on the initiative, said: “Our aim is to make the youth think and bring new ideas to the table as to how patriarchy, and gender bias can be removed from its roots. Our hope is to involve hundreds of colleges in this campaign.”
The contest is open to college students, and anyone can participate. The entries will be accepted till the middle of August. A prize of around Rs 3 lakh is reserved for the winner, while the first runner-up will receive around Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh for the second runner-up. The winners will be awarded on October 2, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
–IANS