Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

BEYOND THE VEIL Some marital dreams die young

Now, how would you react to the information that one single day (November 25), has been chosen as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women? A joke, unlikely to make you laugh. But a circular from the American Consulate Library tells us that such designations “provide an opportunity to highlight the U.S. government’s efforts to combat this problem around the world.” Good luck to them.

As part of its efforts, the U.S. Consulate in Chennai organized a lecture/discussion on ‘Elimination of Violence against Women: Legal Options in India and the United States’. A small group of lawyers, judges, police officers and activists — around 120 in all - showed up at the Judicial Academy. Those who should have been there — parents and girls who accept proposals from grooms, specially “phoren” ones, without a background and character check were sadly absent.

The topic itself makes enormous sense. The first step to “elimination” is to know “how”, legally. And clubbing “India and the U.S.” is deeply significant. For every girl who enjoys the relative-free life in the land of green bucks, there are ten who’re caught in a mesh of abuse in a strange land with little hope of redress. Stories of girls with stars in their eyes following the husband on a dependent visa, and once off the plane, finding that the honey has drained off the moon to reveal a hard surface of abuse – verbal, physical and emotional – are common. What options does an ill-treated woman, whether here or in an overseas “sasural”, have?

Dr. Shamita Das Dasgupta, co-founder of Manavi in New Jersey and Adjunct Professor at the New York University Law School said, “We thought the Indian community was problem-free till we realised that the truth was hidden in the concept of shame, family honour. Fierce faith that we should present a “clean” face to the host community, and as a modern minority in the U.S., our conduct should look unimpeachable kept us silent.” Easy to guess the kind of license it gives to the perpetrator. “Violence may be nested in individual dynamics, but is supported by the institutions and culture of the society,” Dr. Dasgupta pointed out.

“Globalisation and workers being thrown out in a commercialised economy fuels fighting at home,” said Geetha Ramakrishnan, Advisor, Women’s Struggle Movement. Unskilled women workers become targets for special “treatment”. “In our country, domestic violence is rooted in the caste system, gender, patriarchy and community. Temporary hands put up with abuse to keep jobs. Displacement brings its share of cruelty. In a job crisis, on whom do men take out their frustration?”

“Cultural beliefs strongly impact how courts address the issue of marriage,” said Geetha Ramaseshan, Advocate and Special Public Prosecutor, Madras High Court. “Trans-national concerns of violence and social practices like dowry may not be understood abroad.” Activists view violence as a cultural and social issue, but “victims could be caught between two different systems of justice. Marriage and divorce laws differ in different countries. In the U.S. it is “We can’t live together, period. Let’s divide the stuff. In India, by and large, it’s based on a fault-finding system. One has to prove a matrimonial wrong. Who determines the level of cruelty?”

Our Domestic Violence Act establishes a redressal system – protection officers, magistrates – but what about enforcement? Speakers recommended the setting up of strong women’s groups everywhere. When abuse is brutal, the woman should be placed in a shelter and given training and employment. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has proposed to the Ministry of External Affairs that bilateral agreements should be signed with countries having large Indian diaspora. They want Indian courts to recognise and enforce foreign divorce decrees, maintenance and child custody orders.

Added lawyer Sudha Ramalingam, “If a person chooses to marry an Indian, such of that person should be governed by Indian matrimonial laws, whether civil or criminal.”

In a different forum, the U.S. Consul-General, David Hopper said, “The U.S. Consulate-General is determined to do whatever we can to eliminate violence against women. We have identified the visa application process as one opportunity. Because of language and other barriers, some women victims don’t know where to turn for help. In fact, help is available in every part of the U.S. for victims of domestic abuse and violence.”

Let’s hope for the best.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail