The Bandra amphitheater in Mumbai on Tuesday evening was brimming with a crowd of close to 2000 people. Guess what the occasion was? They had come to attend the Lalkaar concert organized by Farhan Akhtar’s MARD (Men Against Rape and Discrimination). The purpose? To end violence against women and girls.

“I believe that women are superior to men on many levels and I am unashamed to admit that I am a little shy and scared of women whether she is my mother, wife, sister or friend,” said Shahrukh Khan, as he joined the concert.

“Women have more patience. Real strength is when people can have a sense of quietude and calm around them and I believe women bring that to this world,” Shahrukh added.

MARD organized the event in collaboration with director Feroz Abbas Khan, and Population Foundation of India (PFI) with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Trending on the Twitter chart on the top two spots, the concert was streamed live on Facebook garnering 106,000 views and shared more than several hundred times across social media platforms.

Though the matter of gender-based violence needs the support of every single individual, with celebrities joining the protest and committed to ending discrimination against women, it has gained momentum.

You may be wondering that the concert only catered to celebrities, oh no honey! People from all walks of life come together there. Film actors and their larger-than-life personalities joined hands with everyday heroes like Ladkuwar Khushwaha who fought the oppression of both caste and gender to go to college.

“Remind yourselves of all the little acts of injustice and discrimination that women encounter daily. Ask yourselves why 3,30,000 girl children are lost every year due to sex-selective abortions or why our sex ratio is down to 900 girls for every 1000 boys,” Farhan said.

Men need to understand that oppressing women or abusing them is not what “mardangi” is. It is respecting their dignity and giving them their rights.

As Shah Rukh Khan said in the lines from a poem penned by Javed Akhtar, “Jisko aurat ke tann mann ka, jeevan ka sammaan hai/Aurat ke aatm-sammaan ka jisko har ik pal dhyaan hai/Jo kabhi ek pal bhi nahin bhoolta, aurat insaan hai… Sach toh ye hai/ Vohi mard hain.”

(The one who believes fully in the mind and body of the woman, believes in life/The one who constantly looks out for the self-respect of women/The one who never forgets, even for a second, that a woman is also a human being…Truth is/That is the real man).

This concert was held in the continuance of the campaign launched earlier this year on May 30 and has continued over nine months, the Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya – Enough Is Enough campaign.