Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

On domestic violence

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is a progressive law aimed at achieving gender equality in a society where violence against women is ubiquitous in one form or other. One wonders whether it will be effectively enforced or will meet the same fate as the Dowry Prohibition Act, which has not succeeded in eliminating the menace. For the law to be meaningful, general awareness among women should increase. The emphasis should be on legal literacy and economic independence.

Y.N. Murthy,
Hyderabad

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Any attempt to bring in social legislation will succeed only when it is complemented and preceded by awareness-building among the people, especially the target group.

Naveen Marrapu,
Hyderabad

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It is distressing that cases of domestic violence are grossly underreported even in elite and literate circles. Lack of awareness, fear of more violence, severance of family ties, loss of income, and social stigma force the victims to suffer silently. The law is comprehensive as it covers physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic harassment of women in the family. The need of the hour is coordination among various government bodies and NGOs, and creation of awareness through the mass media to encourage women to report cases of violence against them.

P.L. Reghu,
Thiruvananthapuram

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The objective of the Act is laudable. But I wonder how far it will be effective. Our experience in implementing the Dowry Prohibition Act, Child Marriage Restraint Act, and the Visakha guidelines on sexual harassment in the workplace is not very encouraging. On the other hand, the law that seeks to prevent domestic violence is against the principle of gender equality. There are greater chances of it being misused than of it serving its purpose.

P.V. Ayyappankutty Nair,
Nilgiris, T.N.

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Two laws that have been enacted recently — to liberate children and save women from domestic violence — seem to be half measures as they do not seem to be concerned with the fate of the victims after they are rescued from their oppressors on whom they are dependent for their sustenance. If the victims complain to the police, they will immediately lose their means of sustenance.

C.V. Krishnamoorthy,
Bangalore

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Some readers have argued that the law against domestic violence will adversely affect family bonds. If women are treated with the respect that is due to them, it will contribute immensely to improved bonds and love between couples. Society is steeped in the belief that women are subordinate to men. This mindset will have to change. Affording legal protection to women is long overdue and the law is an insurance against ill-treatment of women.

C.V. Subbaraman,
Ahmedabad

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Though women have made tremendous progress in various fields of activity, we come across glaring gender disparities. The Act is an important step towards achieving women's emancipation and economic and social progress.

Though the law per se is welcome, its misuse to settle personal scores cannot be ruled out. But the fear of misuse cannot be a ground for scrapping it. Courts have to play an important role in separating fact from fiction in cases booked under the Act. As pointed out by the Supreme Court while examining a case relating to 498 (A) of the Indian Penal Code "if [the] cry of wolf is made too often as a prank, assistance and protection may not be available when the actual wolf appears." Women would do well to bear this in mind.

K. Mahabub Ali,
Hyderabad

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Thomas More, who was beheaded by Henry VIII, clearly underscored the rights of the defendant when he said: "... I assure thee on my faith, that if the parties will at my hands call for justice, then, although it were my father stood on the one side, and the devil on the other, his cause being good, the devil should have right." It is this insurmountable right of the defendant that has been denied in the Act. In our attempt to ape the West blindly, we have paved the way for our marriages to take the road to perdition.

Rex S. Arul,
Smyrna, Georgia

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