While we’re dwelling in the 21st century and proudly so, it isn’t the case for the hundreds and thousands of Indian women, especially those residing in the remote rural areas of the country, The picture isn’t always rosy for the one living the ‘so-called’ urban life as they continue to face harassment on various levels whether it is pertaining to vices like dowry, or the uncalled force for sex-selective abortion. Then again, there are other enormous attempts like molestation and rape which further take down the women in a far more degrading way.
WOMAN FAVOURING LAWS
As is known, this condition of women has been a part of Indian society since a few centuries now, the constitution makers ensured that women receive their fair share of right against men, whether strangers or their own husbands as well as their in-laws who have often found to be guilty especially in cases of dowry killings and forced female infanticide. In fact, in order to protect the integrity of the female folk, time and again these laws have been amended to keep up with the changing scenario, with some going as far as to lock up the accused merely on the basis of an FIR, without so much as a primary interrogation, which usually is the accused’s right.
MISUSE OF LAWS ON LARGER SCALE
Given the extreme nature of these laws, they have been constantly misused rather blatantly by women across the nation. Whether it is a mild disagreement with the husband or a casual family feud, women have abused the power vested in them by the way of such laws and shown their immediate family, and even complete strangers the way to the jail and a miserable life, more often than one could ever imagine. In a shocking revelation by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), out of the 90,000 cases investigated against dowry harassment, a staggering 10,000 cases came out to be completely baseless, and we aren’t even talking of the cases that are impending inquiry. While in the case of rape, fake acquisitions are made for several reasons ranging from soured relationships to extra-marital affairs, and in some cases with the sheer motive of harassing the other party for extortion or sometimes even to avenge certain unrelated disputes. As per the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) 53.2% of the rape cases filed between April 2013 and July 2014 in Delhi were found to be ‘false’.
FAKE DOWRY CASES
Such is the dismal situation, that the pan India helpline for men under distress registered a whopping 38,000 calls in a period of 12 months, averaging around 107 calls per day. Right from fake dowry cases against them and their families to fake accusations of rape and molestation, these men have been tortured by their female counterparts in more than just a few ways. A woman from Delhi had gone as far as torturing 11 different men on completely different occasions by the mere threat of slapping a false rape case and kept receiving huge sums of money from them in return. It was only after she actually falsely accused a man, and he pleaded not guilty, that the police and court could come to realize of her evil ideas.
BIASED SOCIETY CULTURE
Our constitution is so oblivious that it doesn’t consider the very fact that even a male can be a victim in such cases. What makes things even worse is, if such men are held by the law under the accusation of harassment for dowry, they lose all the rights to speak to their better halves, even when the intention is to reconcile the bond amicably. While in rape accusations, men can be granted bail on certain grounds, however, it completely destroys their social image and personal lives. While most men are shunned by the society and their workplaces, in lieu of the cases filed against them, there are some who are shown the way out even by their own families, either out of shame or disgust. In one such case, a young man in his early 30s committed suicide. A father of two, his family was left completely devastated, and more so when the court ruled in favor of him. Of course, the ruling couldn’t have brought him back.
It is appalling that the laws which were meant to help create a better standard of life for the female folk, have given way to such an ugly picture. Amendments to these laws are in talks and in all likelihood will make it difficult to allege somebody falsely, and even penalize the accuser heavily. Many an NGOs have also come forward to lend a helping hand to the distressed male community. However, the misuse of these laws by the women across the nation have already destroyed some hundred thousand houses and shattered the lives of many including the senior citizens and sometimes even the toddlers of the family, something that cannot be undone at any cost!
Image Sources – Google.com