The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Activists oppose review of domestic violence Act

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Sunday, Dec 23, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Activists oppose review of domestic violence Act

Bageshree S.

Lawyers’ Collective frames e-petition against review

Over 170 activists and groups have already signed e-petitions and sent it to the Ministry
‘Men’s groups have set up blogs campaigning
for review of PWDVA’

Bangalore: The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development’s proposal to set up a panel of lawyers to review the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), has become a cause of worry for women’s activists. They see the move as an effort to dilute the Act, passed in October, 2006, after persistent campaigning by women’s groups demanding a consolidated law against domestic violence.

The New Delhi-based advocacy group, The Lawyers’ Collective (Women’s Rights Initiative), has started an e-campaign against the setting up of the panel and over 170 activists and groups have already signed e-petitions and sent it to the Ministry.

“In the one year of its existence, there have been several challenges posed against the effective implementation of the Act, which in our opinion undermine women’s rights to equality and right to live free from violence. Any move to amend the Act at this stage would therefore amount to a retraction of the promises made by the present UPA Government in its Common Minimum Programme towards upholding fundamental rights of women,” writes Indira Jaisingh of Lawyers’ Collective in her introduction to the e-petition.

The petition says that though the panel is expected to be formed to review a set of six laws, the specific target is PWDVA because the others (Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956; Amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; National Commission for Women Act, 1990; the Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987; Indecent Representation of Women Prohibition Act, 1986) are either already reviewed by other bodies or is in the process of being reviewed.

To mark the first anniversary of the PWDVA, the Lawyers’ Collective, with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the National Commission for Women, had done a review of the law in the last week of October and released a monitoring and evaluation report as well. This makes yet another review at such short notice more suspect.

Men’s view

“We are aware that there are several men’s groups, who have set up blogs and websites campaigning for and demanding a review of the PWDVA, alleging that the law victimises innocent husbands and in-laws. No such demand has come from the women’s movement,” states the petition. Donna Fernandes of Vimochana, one of the women’s groups which has signed the petition, says that the priority should be on implementing the Act rather than reviewing it before giving it adequate time to be tested.

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