The Observer An IIJNM publication
Vol. 21, Issue 15
Resident doctors, interns of two govt hospitals go on an indefinite strike, joined by other staff | P 2
Monday, November 29, 2021
Reluctance to seek help is one of the factors By Tina Freese
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and they don’t seek help. Middleaged men, in general, have a lot of societal pressure. The environment they grew up in during young age makes talking about emotions a sort of taboo.” Another reason for the larger number of suicides is toxic masculinity. Dr Khushbo Baxi, a practising counselling psychologist, said: “From a very young
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Medarahalli roads, dug up two years ago for the Cauvery Pipeline, have been left unpaved | P 4
Men more prone than women to commit suicide: NCRB report en are more prone to suicide than women, says the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2020. In 2020, India reported 1.53 lakh cases of suicide out of which 1.08 lakh (70.9 percent) were by men. Among men, 22.6 percent were in the 18-30 age group and 23.8 percent were in the 30-45 age group. Family problems was the major cause of suicide in cities, which accounted for 34.0 per cent of suicides by men Dr Veena A. Satyanaryana, associate professor of clinical psychology at NIMHANS, discussed the various reasons that drive men to attempt suicide. “It is true that men are more prone to attempt suicide than women. The reason for suicide is very complex. It is a combination of things. Men tend to internalize issues. They prefer not to speak about them,
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age, boys are fed with this notion that they are supposed to be strong. This gets engraved in their minds.” Boys are told that one is masculine only if you don’t cry or get emotional. “They aren’t self-aware in many cases, and they don’t want to talk about their feelings. For them, asking for help is a sign of weakness. They avoid it completely,
Baxi said.” Out of all the patients she has dealt with, only about 5 percent were men. Preetpal Singh Bhatia, 19 years old, a student, said: “I feel that boys of my age face a lot of pressure from family and the society. ‘Study hard, make a career so that you can support your family in the future’ is a common phrase in every household. I have faced it personally. I don’t think a girl is nearly as much under pressure as compared to a boy.” Societal expectations and a lack of ability to express feelings openly are considered to be the major reasons for much higher suicides among men. Sahil Chodhary, 23 years old, a back-end developer in Bengaluru, said: “Societal expectations are… the very root of this problem. Men aren’t seen as man enough if they even try to express their feelings. When we sometimes do express our feelings, we are seen as weak and emotional. Phrases such as ‘Don’t cry like a girl’ are fed to a boy from a very young age. It is very difficult to shake off the idea that men are supposed to lack emotion and be strong.” Continued on Page 5
News briefs Farm laws repealed, protest to continue A Bill to repeal the three controversial farm laws has been passed by Parliament by a voice vote. The opposition’s demand for a debate was rejected by Speaker Om Birla. Farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait welcomed the Bill, but said the protest would continue since other issues, including MSP, are yet to be resolved.
Japan restricts entry of foreign passengers
Japanese PM Fumio Kishida announced the country will bar foreign visitors from entering the country. This order comes after Japan lifted border restrictions earlier this month for people visiting for businesses, students and workers. Israel and Morocco have suspended all incoming international flights.
Ready to handle third wave: B’luru hospitals
With the fear of a third Covid wave hitting Bengaluru, hospitals say that they are prepared to tackle the situation. Though the hospitals are unclear about the right treatment, they are confident their handling would be better in comparison to the second wave. Karnataka has reported 315 new Covid-19 cases as of today. P 2
‘What was his crime?’: Fans of Faruqui livid as show is cancelled By Tina Freese
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A cheerful atmosphere due to a relative return to normalcy was the highlight of the Kadlekai Parishe, inaugurated on Monday. People who participated in the much-awaited festival, however, said the footfalls did not match up pre-pandemic levels | Credit: Shrist Achar A | Page 5
any fans and fellow comedians are upset over the cancellation of Munawar Faruqui’s standup to be held on Sunday at the Good Shepherd Auditorium, Bengaluru. Rajvardhan Thakur, 16, a fan, is deeply hurt by the situation. “It is very sad…. Society tries to draw the line about topics which you can joke about. Taboo topics become tempting for comedians who try to use them because nobody expects to hear them . When you go to a show, you are allowed to get offended by a joke and you are free not to laugh, leave the show and continue with your life. But to take it to this level is bad.” Amina Khot, 21, said: “This is
Good Shepherd Auditorium in Bengaluru wore a deserted look as Faruqui’s show was cancelled | Credit: Tina Freese unfair. We have lost a great artiste today. What was his crime? Making jokes? I don’t know what kind of democracy we live in. If you don’t like a joke, just walk away, but don’t make the comedian leave his comedy behind. What happened to him is in violation of his freedom of speech
and… because he is a Muslim.” Khot hopes the comedian will come back stronger. On Sunday, Faruqui took to Twitter and Instagram to announce he was deeply saddened byofficial response to his planned show. “I think this is the end.” His fans on social media gathered in support of the artiste. Pavan Venugopal, a Bengalurubased standup comedian, said, “I am deeply saddened by the situation. We live in a world where anyone can get offended anytime. What we can do as comedians is to try and scrutinize our jokes in such a way that it doesn't hurt anyone's sentiments. I am sure that Munawar will come back stronger and resume his shows.” Continued on Page 5