Husbands seek separate ministry for men’s welfare
Shimla, While the entire country celebrated Independence Day, for these harassed men, most of them in the prime of their bright careers, the day holds no significance when those very laws meant for protecting women are being misused to hit back at their innocent mothers and sisters who too happen to be women.
Demanding the setting up of a separate ministry for Men’s Welfare and a National Commission for Men, over 100 members from the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) from all over the country held their second national meet here today. They chose August 15 specifically to highlight the fact there were no provisions to address the blatant misuse of dowry harassment and domestic violence act by a fairly sizeable section of women.
It was with the launch of a website in March, 2005, by two IT professionals, Anil and Kutty, grappling failed marriages in Bangalore that the idea to join hands and fight women centric laws took shape. Today, SIFF has its presence not only in India but across the globe with a spurt in failed marriages and divorces resulting in bitter legal battles affecting the entire family.
“We too respect women and believe they need to be protected but what must stop is the misuse of these gender-biased laws which are proving to be the very antithesis of the objective of such legal provisions,” says Suresh Ram, convener of the Chennai Chapter of SIFF. He adds that women who have a failed marriage invariably misuse the legal provisions as a weapon to unleash vendetta and seek revenge not just against their husbands but also their innocent families.
Another aggrieved husband, Rajesh Vakharia from Nagpur, points out that it is not just the mental agony of the legal wrangles they suffer but their bright careers take a nosedive as a result of marital discord with their elderly mothers and young sisters being dragged to police stations and courts even while being innocent.
“Has anyone ever spared a thought for the agony of the mother and sister whose son or brother commits suicide after failing to suffer the pain of martial discord and the resultant legal battle with the odds being heavily in favour of women even if the man is innocent,” quips Uma Challa, who is lending support to these aggrieved men in the form of the All-India Forgotten Women Forum.
She points out that society is so drowned by the voices of the so-called harassed women that everyone is made to believe that men are guilty and women innocent.
“It is high time that law makers spare a glance at the figures of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which indicates that 58,000 married men as compared to 26,000 women committed suicide in India,” says Purshottam, a bank employee from Mumbai who despite being thrashed by his wife is facing domestic violence charges. Even video tapes of his physical assault by his wife did not help in the police station or court.