Chennai: About 3,000 male students from the city ran along Marina Beach at dawn break on Saturday, to support a gender equality initiative by United Nations.
The event, called HeForShe, is an initiative to promote gender equality and parity across the society. With International Women’s Day approaching, male students from 10 colleges of Chennai joined the cause to run along a 3 km stretch.
HeForShe is an initiative by the UN Women to create a gender equal world, by aiming at women empowerment, involving support and participation from everyone globally. “When men are running for women in the event, they are participating for gender equality without women having to do it,” said Hafiz Khan, of EZONEIndia, who organised the event for an Indian corporate. Ten companies across the world are involved in this initiative.
“It is quite common that a woman in the same position as a man at a company gets paid lesser. Also, women are taught that kitchen is their place. To make people sensitive against such practices, this event was essential,” added Hafiz. In order to bring awareness about equality across genders, college students were approached and sensitized about the issue. Male students wanting to participate thronged along Marina to run for the cause.
“I believe in equality. For me, male and female are genders, nothing to do with superiority,” said S. Daniel, a student of Don Bosco College of Arts and Science.
