Violence Aganist Women
Violence Against Women In India
Suffering Continues Despite Progress All Over
KN Tiwari, Director, Disha Social Organization
I. Introduction Newspapers and periodicals of all hues in India often carry reports about violence against women. These include among others incidents of young brides being burnt for bringing ‘insufficient’ dowry, women dieing in abnormal circumstances, rape on hapless women and molestation of young girls. In some cases there are public protests by women activists and such protests receive media coverage. Deaths of women are extreme outcome of ill treatment, psychological abuse, or physical violence suffered by women. On the other hand domestic violence suffered by women on a regular basis in the form of psychological or physical abuse goes unreported. Very rarely do women themselves file police cases against the ill treatment meted out to them. A few women who escape death end up in shelter homes, but the majority continue to live in marital union and endure abusive behaviour. Attempts to address the issue of violence against women have been lopsided and shortsighted. For example, the Dowry Prohibition Act, which was passed in 1961 and amended in 1984 and 1986, emphasises marital violence in the context of dowry only. While inadequate dowry may be one of the underlying causes of harassment of women, in rural poor households, where dowry is either non-existent or is only a token payment, there are other causes of abusive behaviour. Immediate ‘shortcomings’, negligence or failure in performing duties expected of wives or daughter-in-law also lead to violence. These causes may reflect the deep-rooted gender inequalities that prevail and persist in most regions of India. It is in this backdrop that violence against women and some of the best practices being followed in the country to address the menace are being examined in this paper. The paper begins with profiling of Indian women with respect to a few selected socioeconomic indicators.
Suffering Continues Despite Progress All Over
KN Tiwari, Director, Disha Social Organization
I. Introduction Newspapers and periodicals of all hues in India often carry reports about violence against women. These include among others incidents of young brides being burnt for bringing ‘insufficient’ dowry, women dieing in abnormal circumstances, rape on hapless women and molestation of young girls. In some cases there are public protests by women activists and such protests receive media coverage. Deaths of women are extreme outcome of ill treatment, psychological abuse, or physical violence suffered by women. On the other hand domestic violence suffered by women on a regular basis in the form of psychological or physical abuse goes unreported. Very rarely do women themselves file police cases against the ill treatment meted out to them. A few women who escape death end up in shelter homes, but the majority continue to live in marital union and endure abusive behaviour. Attempts to address the issue of violence against women have been lopsided and shortsighted. For example, the Dowry Prohibition Act, which was passed in 1961 and amended in 1984 and 1986, emphasises marital violence in the context of dowry only. While inadequate dowry may be one of the underlying causes of harassment of women, in rural poor households, where dowry is either non-existent or is only a token payment, there are other causes of abusive behaviour. Immediate ‘shortcomings’, negligence or failure in performing duties expected of wives or daughter-in-law also lead to violence. These causes may reflect the deep-rooted gender inequalities that prevail and persist in most regions of India. It is in this backdrop that violence against women and some of the best practices being followed in the country to address the menace are being examined in this paper. The paper begins with profiling of Indian women with respect to a few selected socioeconomic indicators.