Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organisations free from gender bias. Comment. (UPSC 2013)

Women’s organisations are vital safe spaces for women’s leadership, solidarity and articulation of lived realities. Yet gender justice cannot be achieved without men opposing patriarchy, violence and discrimination in family, workplace and society.

• Why male membership helps: It widens support, reduces stigma and affirms equality as a shared constitutional duty under Articles 14, 15, 21 and 51A(e).
• Caution: Unchecked male dominance can dilute women’s voices, create tokenism and weaken spaces needed to discuss oppression and strategy.

Hence, men should be encouraged as accountable allies in outreach, awareness and mobilisation, while women-only spaces for decision-making and leadership must remain intact.