The conversation started with a simple question: how do you celebrate your birthday?Go drink beers with friends, enjoy some cake, they answered. And the birthdays of their friends? Again, cake, beer, gifts.But when asked about the birthdays of their sisters, the men, ages 19 to 20, didn't have as much to offer. Most had never given their sister a gift. Out of 38 men in the room, 35 didn't even know their own sister's date of birth."We asked them: 'You know your birthday and you are celebrating your birthday. You know your friends' birthday and you are celebrating their birthday. So how do you think your sister is feeling about her birthday?'" Yogesh Vaishnav, the man who was leading the discussion, recalled. "At the end of this workshop, everyone decided they would celebrate their sister's birthday and give them a gift."The exchange was part of a program run by Vikalp Sansthan , an organization cofounded by Vaishnav that works to end discrimination, inequality, and violence in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Promoting gender equality is a major part of the group's mission. But in addition to educating and supporting women and girls — an approach taken by many nonprofits working to improve gender equality — Vikalp Sansthan has launched a unique initiative aimed at boys and men."If we want peaceful, healthy and equal-based society, we have to work with both genders," Usha Choudhary, another cofounder, told Refinery29 in a Skype interview. "It is very important to empower girls and women and, at the same time, very important to sensitize men and boys. Through this process, they will grow together and respect each other."