The 20th edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon saw a shift of trend in the Dream Run category as the marathon lacked women empowerment advocates but saw multiple men’s rights advocates participating in the run.
Around 25,000 people participated in the Dream Run category of the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2025, which included running with a cause. While a few individuals, groups and corporate teams advocated to raise awareness about educating girl child, the men’s’ rights advocates became the showstealer. These activists also demanded justice for Atul Subhash, who took his life allegedly due to harassment from wife.
Multiple groups of men’s’ rights activists participated in the marathon highlighting the issues faced by married men in particular. These issues included parental alienation, false cases against men, men’s suicide and other matrimonial issues. Most of the men with this cause claimed to be suffering due to false cases filed by their wives under the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with the criminal offense of cruelty against a married woman by her husband or his relatives.
With placards saying ‘He is a man, not an ATM machine’, ‘A child needs a father too’, and ‘Biwi sataye, hume bataye’ (If the wife troubles, let us know), a group of men associated with Nyay Prayaas Foundation ran to spread awareness about mental health issues faced by men due to harassment from their wives. Many of these men, who were alienated from their children, ran to promote shared parenting.
Chetan Naik, one of the runners, said that he was not being allowed by his wife to meet his seven-year-old daughter even after the court has granted approval. He claimed that he has not met his daughter since the last five years, even after paying 50% of his income as maintenance. “Every weekend, I call to request my wife to allow me to see my princess, as allowed by the court, but all in vain. When men go through such situations, they feel that suicide is a better option,” he said, adding that their NGO helps men with emotional support and legal advice.
Abhay Baithankar, another participant came from Latur to run the marathon, claimed that he was separated from his son from four years. “This does not only affect the father but also the child who goes through mental agony. I have observed that my son has stopped socialising with people and does not play with his classmates or other children in the society. This stops the mental growth of the child.
These men also raised their voice against Section 498A. Vivek Mandhare, a former bank employee and the regional coordinator of the organisation’s western region, claimed that he was forced to resign by the bank due to the false case filed by his wife. “Although I have been acquitted in the case within three years, I did not get my job back. It has been a modus operandi to file false cases under this section. If the wife is from another state, she will file the case in that region, adding up to the husband’s worries as he is stuck with the case for around 7 to 10 years,” he said.
Navi Mumbai based Vaastav Foundation also participated in the marathon highlighting the death of Atul Subhash. It demanded establishment of a men’s commission on the lines of the Women’s Commission by the government to help distressed men who are in the verge of suicide.
