BraveMen Diary by CMMS
Brave Man Diary is a part of the ‘Brave Men Campaign’ by Center for Men and Masculinity Studies (CMMS). This campaign inspires adolescent boys to behave responsibly and educates them about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. One of the major aims of this campaign is to tackle violence against women and girls by instilling positive behaviour among boys at a young age.
The Brave Man Diary is a journal for adolescent boys, where they can write about themselves and keep a record of their sexual and reproductive health. It contains fun facts, information, short stories and spaces to let young boys write about their feelings and experiences while they are going through puberty. It is divided into the following five chapters:
Chapter 1: Growing Up
This chapter answers questions that young boys may ask themselves at their tender age about growing up and experiencing physical and mental changes.
Chapter 2: Relationships
This chapter deals with relationships that boys have with their parents, friends and girls.
Chapter 3: Reproductive Health
It is natural that young boys may have questions about women’s bodies during adolescence. It is best to make sure that these questions should be dealt with in an open and positive manner. In most cases, boys discuss these matters with their peers, and this leads to wrong information, and may lead to risky behaviour.
Chapter 4: Violence
This chapter helps boys differentiate between types of violence and harassment. It lets them realise that this is wrong and they can play an important role in taking a stand against it. This chapter also helps boys understand pedophilia.
Chapter 5: Child Marriage
Child marriage is a common occurrence in many parts of Bangladesh. This chapter helps boys understand child marriage, its causes and its consequences, and inspires them to take stand against this social evil.
Parents and teachers are encouraged to distribute this diary among their children and students. Make your own Brave Man Diary by following these steps:
- Download the pdf files given at the end of this article
- Print the pages
- Bind the pages
- Start writing and learning
For parents and teachers, you can print this diary and distribute it among children to help them learn about their own sexual and reproductive health and rights.