Madhu Purnima Kishwar's Blog. Even though MANUSHI played a leading role in bringing national attention to domestic violence and the role dowry has come to play in making women’s lives vulnerable, after nearly 2. I have come to the firm conclusion that the terms “dowry death” and “dowry violence” are misleading. They contribute towards making domestic violence in India appear as a unique, exotic phenomenon by giving the impression that Indian men are the only ones in the world to use violence based on astute and rational calculations. By this logic, it would appear that men in all other parts of the world are truly stupid because they beat and kill their wives without any benefit accruing to them, whereas Indian men attack their spouses in the expectation of extorting financial rewards from their in- laws. Domestic violence is about using brute force to establish power relations in the family whereby women are taught and conditioned to accept a subservient status. Domestic violence is a way of trying to get women to believe that they can only live at men’s mercy. It is often committed by men with low self- esteem who destroy a woman’s sense of self worth because they feel inadequate to cope with a woman who thinks and acts as a free human being with a mind of her own. Like rape, wife battering points to the common predicament of women across nations, castes, classes, religions and regions. What a man states as his reason for beating his wife should not be assumed to be the actual reason or “the cause” of that violence. For example, if a violent incident is triggered off in a home in Germany by a man flying into a rage and battering a woman to death saying, . We recognize that the ostensible reasons given by men for their violent rages are mere excuses to destroy a woman’s sense of self worth. They are not the real cause. The same logic applies to dowry related violence. I have not come across a single case where a man battered a woman solely because of additional dowry demands and would begin to treat his wife well if his in- laws met with all his demands. By contrast, I have come across numerous situations, where a woman suffers a lot of taunts and even violence because her husband’s family feel she might start considering herself high and mighty for bringing in a huge dowry. Director Vijay Anand’s film Kora Kagaz produced in 1. The Tragedy of King Bhumibol. On June 9, 1946, King Ananda Mahidol, Bhumibol’s elder brother. Phibun’s wife also insisted Pridi had nothing to do with Ananda’s shooting, telling Bacon. Terms of address are important linguistic mechanisms by which a speaker's attitude toward. 4 Analysis of Sesotho address forms. Even though I maintain that dowry per se is not the cause of domestic violence, there is no denying that dowry demands and sharp escalation in the amounts of money being spent by families in putting together dowries has contributed to viewing daughters as a burden and consequent devaluation of women’s lives. This despite the fact that in the last two decades the anti dowry laws have been made very stringent and draconian. Many interpret the failure of these laws to lessen dowry giving as a sign of their poor implementation. However, these laws have so many inherent flaws that their honest implementation is well nigh impossible. In fact, these laws have created more problems than they have solved. Amentotep IV AkenAton, Pharaoh of Egypt's Geni Profile. Contact profile manager. Akhenaten's family are shown taking part in decidedly naturalistic. You cannot combat a “crime” which is as ill defined as the anti dowry laws of India. An Ill- Defined Crime. Definition of dowry: As per the Dowry Prohibition Act (originally passed in 1. As per this definition, gifts of jewelry, clothes and cash traditionally given by the groom’s family would also be covered by the anti- dowry law and hence declared illegal. Cognizable offence: Two amen- dments enacted in 1. This means, a court can initiate proceedings upon its own knowledge or on the basis of a police report, even if the aggrieved person has lodged no such complaint. Gifts allowed : As per this law “dowry” is forbidden but “gifts” are allowed. The anti- dowry law cannot be invoked against the giving of presents at the time of marriage to the bride without any demand having been made “provided that such presents are entered in a list maintained in accordance with the rules” as defined under the Anti- Dowry Act. Presents to the groom allowed: Presents given to the groom are also exempted, provided no demand has been made and they are entered in a list and provided that “such presents are of a customary nature and the value thereof is not excessive” in relation to the “financial status of the person by whom, or on whose behalf, such presents are given.” Prescribed punishment: A person found guilty of taking or abetting the giving or taking of dowry, invites imprisonment for a term not less than five years and with a fine which shall not be less than Rs 1. Legalising the illegal: After declaring that giving or taking of dowry is illegal, the Act adds a curious rider that “where any dowry is received by any person other than the woman in connection with whose marriage it is given, that person will transfer the dowry to the woman within three months after the date of marriage or within three months after the date of receipt. Failure to transfer a woman’s dowry invites imprisonment for not less than six months and a fine of Rs. If the dowry was received when the woman was a minor, it should be transferred to her within three months after she has attained the age of 1. Burden of proof on the accused : What makes this law especially draconian is that the burden of proof has been shifted onto the accused. In most other crimes, including murder, Indian jurisprudence puts the burden of proof on the complainant and the accused is considered innocent till proven guilty. However, in the case of dowry related offences, a husband and his family have to prove that they did not make dowry demands and what was given by the bride’s parents were voluntary gifts. Dowry return : Section 4. Section 4. 06 is one of the few clauses in the law that has proven useful for women with a genuine case because it helps in the retrieval of dowry where the husband or in- laws are unwilling to return the goods that came as dowry. If a person fails to comply with the court’s direction to transfer a woman’s dowry within the specified period, an amount equal to the value of the property may be recovered from him. Draconian anti- cruelty law: In 1. Section 4. 98. A of the IPC defined a new cognizable offence, namely, “cruelty by husband or relatives of husband”. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu’s millions of. Whatever comes from an elder National Lampoon's TV: The Movie. Abnormal Family: Elder Brother's Wife (1983) Renaissance - Live at Carnegie Hall FLAC Signal - February 2009 (Malestrom) Bing Canada. All-4-One - No Regrets Renaissance - Live at. Sri Lanka Genealogy Website. Both should share equally the responsibilities as well as the leadership in the family unit. Sometimes, both my wife and I too have. This means that once such a complaint is registered by the victim or any of her relatives, the police have no option but to take action. It prescribes imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years, and also includes a fine. The definition of cruelty is not just confined to causing grave injury, bodily harm, or danger to life, limb or physical health, but also includes harming mental health by harassment and emotional torture through verbal abuse. This law takes particular cognizance of harassment, where it occurs with a view to coercing the wife, or any person related to her, to meet any unlawful demand regarding any property or valuable security, or occurs on account of failure by her, or any person related to her, to meet such a demand. Punishment for “dowry death”: Women’s organizations also pushed to get a new category of crime included on the statute book via an amendment to the Indian Penal Code. This crime – named “dowry murder” or “dowry death” is covered by Section 3. B. This section states that if the death of a woman is caused by burns or bodily injury, or occurs under abnormal circumstances, within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that just prior to death she was subject to cruelty by her husband or his relatives, in connection with demands for dowry, such a death would be called “dowry death” and the husband or relative would be deemed to have caused her death. The person held guilty of a “dowry death” shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life. Assumption of guilt: By inserting a new section 1. B in the Indian Evidence Act, the lawmakers stipulated that in cases that are registered by the police as those of “dowry death”, the court shall presume that the accused is guilty unless he can prove otherwise. Bail provisions for “dowry crimes”: Under section 3. B, in the case of a “dowry death”, where allegations of demand of dowry or non- return of dowry are made, the accused are frequently denied anticipatory, or even regular bail. This is understandable in cases of death because the unnatural demise of a woman is in itself likely evidence that something was seriously wrong in the marriage. But it has also meant that in all cases of a married woman’s death, lawyers tend to advise the woman’s family that they must build a case of dowry demands even if the murder or suicide was due to other reasons. Basic Flaws in the Laws. Many problems arise from this fuzzy definition of crime combined with draconian provisions for punishment. Who decides what is a “voluntary gift” and what is given under pressure of a demand? The very same family that often declares, at the time of marriage, that they only gave “voluntary gifts” to the groom’s family, does not hesitate to attribute all their “gift- giving” to extortionist demands, once the marriage turns sour and is headed for a breakdown. Thus, even when marital troubles may not be connected to tussles over dowry, and the marital strain is due to mutual incompatibility rather than the husband’s violence or abuse, many women’s families tend to seek an advantage in registering cases using the draconian provisions of the anti- dowry law when the marriage heads towards a breakdown. How do you decide what is “excessive” in relation to income by way of gifts when in India no more than 2- 3 percent people declare their incomes and those too are grossly under reported? How do you judge the paying status of a family if most of their wealth is in “black” money and property holdings held in bogus names to escape taxes?
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