Breaking the Silence: My Journey as a Positive Masculinity Champion
Bikash Sah was one of the Positive Masculinity Champions under the What It Means to Be a Young Man Today project, implemented by Restless Development. Through the project, he worked with young people in Madhesh Province to challenge harmful gender norms, promote positive masculinity, and create conversations around empathy, equality, and healthier expressions of manhood. In this personal reflection, Bikash shares his journey, the lessons he learned, and the impact of becoming a Positive Masculinity Champion.
Hello, I am Bikash Sah, a young voice from Janakpurdham, Madhesh Province of Nepal, walking a journey that is not just mine but one shared by many boys and men who were taught to hide who they truly are.
I grew up hearing the same sentences again and again: “Men don’t cry.” “Boys must always be strong.”
At first, they sounded normal. But over time, I realized they were not just words. They were walls. Walls that kept us away from our emotions, from our families, and sometimes even from ourselves.
In my community, I saw how these beliefs shaped lives. Girls were expected to sacrifice their dreams through early marriage. Sons were given more value than daughters. Fathers and mothers were placed into fixed roles, as if care and responsibility had a gender. And young people, full of dreams, were often forced to give them up just to fit into society’s expectations.
I could not ignore these realities. That is why I chose to become a Positive Masculinity Champion with Restless Development, to question these norms and start conversations that many people are still afraid to have.
At the beginning, we had a big vision. We planned to organize a provincial level dialogue where voices from different backgrounds could come together and speak openly about masculinity and its impact. But just as we were preparing, the federal election code of conduct in Nepal brought everything to a halt.
For a moment, it felt like everything was slipping away. Then we made a choice to adapt.
We shifted our work to virtual spaces. What seemed like a limitation became an opportunity. With limited time and resources, we focused on five key activities. I led three of them on my own and co-led one with my colleagues. Each step felt small but meaningful.
One of the most powerful things we did was also one of the simplest.
We connected with 150 young people and sent them 12 text messages, each carrying a question, a reflection, or a challenge about masculinity. These were more than messages. They were seeds of thought, planted quietly. Over time, we began to see change. Young people started questioning, discussing, and slowly shifting their attitudes and behaviors.
I realized then that sometimes change does not need a big stage. It simply needs a message that reaches the heart.
My journey also took me beyond my community. During a Global Youth Hack, I connected with other Positive Masculinity Champions from different countries. As we shared our stories, I felt something powerful. We were all facing similar challenges, expressed through different languages and cultures. It reminded me that this issue belongs to all of us. So does the solution.
Another moment close to my heart was creating a documentary. I wrote and directed it to reflect the reality around me: the pain, the silence, and the hope. It highlighted early marriage, gender discrimination, unequal roles within families, and the quiet struggles of young people whose dreams were cut short. Filmed in Nepali and subtitled in English, it became a bridge connecting my community’s story with a global audience.
We also created 10 digital graphics with messages that spoke directly to people’s everyday experiences. These visuals travelled across social media, starting conversations in places where silence had existed for far too long.
But I kept asking myself: what about those who are not online?
That is when we turned to the radio.
Through a simple radio jingle, our message reached tea shops, salons, and local gathering places where people go about their daily lives. I remember hearing that it was being played in community spaces, sparking conversations among people who had never spoken about these issues before. That moment made me realize that change is not always loud. Sometimes it travels softly through familiar sounds and shared spaces.
This journey has changed me too.
I have grown not just as a champion but as a person. I have learned how to document stories, manage resources, create digital content, and speak confidently in front of people. From video editing to graphic design, from rehearsing my voice to finding it, I have discovered parts of myself I never knew existed.
More than anything, this journey has given me purpose.
Today, I no longer see masculinity as something fixed. I see it as something we can redefine with empathy, equality, and courage.
And I believe this:
When one young person dares to question, a conversation begins.
When conversations begin, change follows.
This is not the end of my journey.
It is just the beginning.
