- CATEGORY: MY CHOICES FOUNDATION
TEDx Talk: An Army of Good Fathers
How do we end violence against women and girls, and how do we make allies out of men and boys?
To learn more about what My Choices Foundation is doing to include men and boys in the army fighting to end violence against women and girls, watch Elca’s TEDxHyderabad talk.
“It always seems impossible until it is done.” These are the words of Nelson Mandela, a man who helped a nation withstand and eventually win its greatest battle for justice. He helped lead South Africa out of apartheid.
Looking at a seemingly impossible task, one has no option but to innovate, and to try untried and difficult solutions. Often, one has to reassess prejudices, and choose to set aside bias. Mandela helped a nation segregated by race focus on forgiveness, peace and hope for a united future.
Similarly, in India where half the population is subjected to pandemic violence, abuse and exploitation, the impossible task seems to be to get both genders – men and women – to work together. Yet, this IS the task, and every day it is being done and becoming less impossible.
Elca Grobler, Founder of My Choices Foundation speaks of an “Army of Good Fathers” committed to keeping their daughters safe, and raising them to be strong women who are confident in their value and purpose. When confronted with the harsh statistics and reality in India, this seems daunting enough to be called impossible. However, this is why Elca calls her team “dragon slayers”. Each day, My Choices Foundation sets out to take on two of India’s most difficult issues – Domestic Violence and Sex Trafficking – and to conquer them with relentless optimism, determined that it is possible to end violence against women and girls, and to have men as allies.
How do we end violence against women and girls, and how do we make allies out of men and boys?
To learn more about what My Choices Foundation is doing to include men and boys in the army fighting to end violence against women and girls, watch Elca’s TEDxHyderabad talk.
My Choices Foundation partnered with Oculus’ VR for Good and Director Jayisha Patel to create the world’s first virtual reality documentary on sex trafficking. The film is called Notes to My Father, and you can view it on Facebook. The film narrates the story of sex-trafficking survivor Ramadevi, and highlights how, together, we can prevent this issue from affecting more innocent girls.
[The embedded video below only works on select browsers. Please visit our Facebook video to watch the film Notes to My Father in 360 on your smart device (phone or tablet).]
Want to support our mission to build an army of good men and boys dedicated to ending violence against women and girls? You can donate through our website – Donate Now
My Choices Foundation
This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.
Share this story
Support Our Work
Your donations make it possible for us to give women and girls the choice to live a life free from violence and exploitation.
or sign up to our newsletter
