Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD/M.A.R.D) is a 2013 social campaign launched by India film director and actor

Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and singer who works in Hindi films. Born to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he established the production company Excel Entertainment, along with Ritesh Sidhwa ...

. The word "MARD" ("Mard"; , ) has been used in the short form of the campaign name. The campaign aims to raise social awareness against rape and discrimination of women. From its launch, the campaign became a topic of discussion in several social networking sites and has received positive feedback from actors like

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more th ...

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India's highest-paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and fiv ...

Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor and model who mainly works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to Arjun Rampal filmography, act in ...

, and

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

History

Akhtar conceived MARD after an incident in August 2012. Pallavi Purkayastha, a Mumbai lawyer, was brutally murdered by her watchman for fighting for her dignity because he tried to sexually assault her. Akhtar launched his campaign in March 2013.

Initiatives

In March 2013, Akhtar performed at a college concert in Bangalore wearing a t-shirt with MARD's logo. He also attempted to popularize this campaign using social networking sites. The tweets posted by Akhtar were hugely popular. In an interview, Akhtar stated that he wanted to bring the campaign to education institutions, such as schools and colleges, "to drive home the message that women need to be respected." Farhan Akhtar, who initiated the social campaign, was also seen promoting the cause at Indian Premiere League season six where he distributed 70,000 moustaches among the audience on 26 April 2013 at Eden Gardens,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

during the

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

vs Kings XI Punjab match in support of the initiative. This initiative was supported by

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and List of Australia national cricket captains, captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-h ...

Gautam Gambhir Gautam Gambhir (born 14 October 1981) is the Head coach of the Indian cricket team. He is also a former international cricketer, former politician, and philanthropist. He played for India in all formats of the game between 2003 and 2016. He w ...

, Shaan, and many others who sported the moustache in the stadium. Actor Mahesh Babu and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar joined the initiative in June 2013. Both

Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. He has appeared in more tha ...

and

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...

lent their voice to record a poem, written by Farhan's father Javed Akhtar.

Reactions

After its launch, the campaign became a trending topic on different

social networking site A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests ...

s, including

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. The initiative received positive feedback and support from many artists, including

Shahid Kapoor Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

and Mukesh Officials etc. Akhtar's tweets were actively re-tweeted by Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Sonam Kapoor and

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...

References

{{Mahesh Babu 2013 in India Feminist organisations in India Violence against women in India Sexual abuse victims advocacy

History

Initiatives

Reactions

See also

References