International Men's Day 2022: History, significance and why men deserve to be heard

International Men's Day is celebrated every year on November 17 to honour all the special men in our lives. The theme that has been decided for the 2022 Men's Day is 'Helping Men and Boys.' This is the day when we honour and celebrate all men and their contributions to society.

The vision to celebrate the positivity and the values that men bring to the world on this day was started by Thomas Oaster in 1992. However, this was founded on November 19, 1999, by a history professor from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh.

History:

In the early 1990s, Thomas Oaster, who was the director of the Missouri Center for Men’s Studies, wanted to celebrate and honour men. To that end, he invited many organisations from countries like the US, Australia, and Malta, where they conducted small events to mark International Men's Day during the month of February.

He even hosted these events for two years, but in 1995, only a few organisations attended, resulting in the function's dissolution. But in 1999, Jerome Teelucksingh realised there wasn't a day to celebrate men who didn't have any children, were younger in age, or were teenagers. To mark the importance of a male role model, he chose to honour International Men's Day on November 19.

Significance:

This day makes us understand and reminds us that all men are different, but they all need to be appreciated in the same way.

This day also acknowledges that all men deserve to be heard and have a voice.

On this day, we as a society need to try to reduce the pressure that they constantly face while breaking of all the stereotypes of manliness.