The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Plea for law to curb domestic violence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 24, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Plea for law to curb domestic violence

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 23. The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has appealed to women legislators to strive to bring in legislation to curb alarming rise in atrocities against women, domestic violence and sexual harassment at the workplace.

The AIDWA State committee president, S. Purnyavathi, general secretary, T. Pavani, and others submitted a memorandum to the Home Minister, Jana Reddy, Ministers, N. Rajyalakshmi, Sabita Indra Reddy, and MLAs, Sara Rani, K. Surekha, G. Kutuhalamma, and Uma Madhava Reddy on Friday. They urged the women legislators to exert pressure on the Government for necessary measures and to amend the existing laws to address the grievances of women.

Indifference alleged

The AIDWA leaders said 70 per cent of women who were murdered were allegedly killed by their husbands and yet the Governments had not brought legislation to curb domestic violence. Similarly in the case of sexual harassment at the workplace, the Governments were neither implementing Supreme Court judgment nor passing laws. It was again women who faced the brunt of ill-effects of the new economic policies. The DWCRA experiment had not proved helpful in creating sustainable livelihoods, they said.

Major demands

The AIDWA demanded review of economic policies and halt privatisation of the public, education and health sectors, implementation of the PNDT Act to ban female infanticide, barring those who resorted to crime against women from contesting elections, sanction of house sites and housing to women, announcement of media policy recognising equality of women.

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Andhra Pradesh