Women's groups fight an uphill battle and unfortunately, most of their fights are against men. This is because they deal with issues that should not be considered 'women's issues' alone, but yet are sidelined by society.

Why should the issues of rape, domestic abuse and the fight for women to be treated as equal citizens be treated any differently from torture, abuse or the fight for human (read: male) rights?

When they encounter resistance beyond the community, it's usually in the largely male-dominated police force, judiciary system, or government.

Enlightened men are in the vast minority and it's not surprising that many people of both genders resent that most crimes or injustices towards women are either committed by, or ignored by, men.

Whether Manohari Subramaniam's statement that all men are potential rapists was accurate, undiplomatic or insensitive is all open to debate. However, I cannot understand why reader Eric Paulsen believes that certain people may be so put off by her words that they may use it as an excuse not to fight for a woman's right not to be raped or murdered.

Nor do I understand why S and G feel that women's organisations, already overburdened with a job for which receives little to no support either from the government or the community, should take time off to take care of men's feelings and 'mingle with real people.'

Ms Manohari made that one single statement among so many others that are in support of women. Do the letter-writers really feel that those few words are enough for us to ignore the fact that there were four rapes reported every day over the past six months in this country?

Rape has violently and permanently damaged the lives of thousands of our daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and friends. What words could possibly lessen the horror of those numbers, of those women?

We all have the right to choose our own battles and I pray that all women, and all men who love at least one woman, will join Awam and WAO in theirs.