On January 25, 2022, SEED Foundation and Promundo-US hosted a webinar titled ‘Promoting Healthy Masculinities in Kurdistan.’ Ms Sherri Talabany (SEED Foundation), Dr. Khanzad Ahmad (High Council for Women and Development, KRG), Gary Barker and Henny Slegh (Promundo-US), Dr. Marcela Ondekova (Oxfam), and CGDS director Dr. Choman Hardi, participated in this webinar.
Dr. Choman shared some of the findings from our study on 'Masculinity, Violence and Prevention', funded by the UK Research and Innovation‘s Global Challenges Research Fund. She argued that the best way to reform masculinity is to engage men in the discussion and let them redefine and transform this concept themselves.
She also spoke about the Mr. Feminist campaign, organised by CGDS in 2017. The campaign consisted of male faculty, staff members, and students holding up a statement each to show their support for women’s rights by making a pledge. All participants were photographed and we made a short video to highlight the campaign’s message. The aim of the campaign was to engage men in the battle against women‘s oppression and to provide male feminist role models.