Males As Promise Leaders

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To celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8th, The Kectil Program launched its new initiative “The 1000 Males Campaign”. We are challenging males in developing countries to take the Kectil Pledge to be a Kectil Male Promise Leader.

Many young girls in rural areas drop out of school early due to poverty. A lot of these girls have little opportunity for employment and a dim future. This makes the girls vulnerable. They often fall prey to young and old men who pay attention to them and give them gifts and money. The girl becomes pregnant and alone after the male walks away. At this point, the male has committed virtual murder, because there is not much difference between killing someone and taking their life away. The irresponsible actions of the male also creates a baby that will be raised without a father. And the child may well grow up without both a mother and a father.

Many, and maybe most, people think this situation is the girl’s fault for “being taken advantage of”.  Kectil says the opposite. The boy or man has committed virtual murder and run away from the scene. He bears no bad results from that unfortunate night she got pregnant, and her life was destroyed.

Kectil is also concerned with physical harm to females by males. In many cultures, it is considered acceptable for males to beat females. According to a 2018 World Bank report on Gender-Based Violence, 35% of females have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner or non-partner violence; 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner; as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner; and 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting. This has to stop.

Males must be taught to be “Promise Leaders”. Males have a deep requirement to take care of the girls and women in their society. Males must be protectors, not virtual murderers. And this means they have a responsibility even to females who are dressing or acting the wrong way, which males would interpret as an “invitation”, which is most often a cry for attention or to fill a need for support.

To address this, Kectil is pleased to announce its “1000 Males Campaign”! We are challenging males to take the Kectil Male Promise Leader Pledge:

  1. When you see a female you find attractive, you must ask yourself this VERY important question. “If I am with this female and she gets pregnant, would I be willing to take care of her and the baby with a full commitment?” If the answer is no, then put your hands in your pocket and walk away.
  2. I agree not to hit or physically attack a female.
  3. I agree to keep my eyes open as a protector to identify situations in which a female is at risk and will try to take reasonable steps to help if possible.
  4. I will encourage other males to take the Kectil Promise Leaders Pledge.

Starting on Friday, March 8th, Kectil added a portal to its public Kectil website (www.kectil.com) where males can register to take the pledge. The Kectil Program will publicly honor these males, and will send each one a colorful Kectil Certificate as a Kectil Promise Leader.

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