Farhan urges youth to push dialogue on gender violence

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar on Tuesday launched a new campaign to combat gender-based violence and urged the youngsters to take the movement forward by creating a new age of dialogue.

As part of his initiative MARD (Men Against Rape and Discrimination), Farhan took to Facebook live to launch a filmmaking competition across colleges in the country as part of a campaign led by Population Foundation of India. The campaign has been titled 'Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya - Enough is Enough'.

"Violence Against Women and Girls is a shameful violation of human rights that our nation should not and must not condone. I call upon our youth to participate in 'Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya' campaign and create a new age of dialogue on the subject of gender violence," Farhan said in a statement.

"I hope such student solidarity will grasp the attention of our nation and its leaders. I am very keen to understand how our youth are going to interpret the subject in the films they make. I implore the leaders of tomorrow to be the change today and proactively participate in this campaign," he added.

Director Feroz Abbas Khan, who has partnered with Farhan on the initiative, said: "Our aim is to make the youth think and bring new ideas to the table as to how patriarchy, and gender bias can be removed from its roots. Our hope is to involve hundreds of colleges in this campaign."

The film contest is open for college students across all streams and will accept entries till the mid of August. The prize money is Rs 300,000 for the winner, Rs 200,000 for runner up and Rs 100,000 for the second runner up.

The winners will be awarded on October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

--IANS

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