Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.
To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser.
Why I Married a Wife Beater
Why I Married a Wife Beater
Why I Married a Wife Beater
Uddipana GoswamiRelated Papers
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the experiences and views of married women about the topic of domestic violence.
We have tried to find out the actual nature, causes, and possible suggestions for reducing domestic violence against women in urban society of Bangladesh. It will be helpful for you guys! Thanks for reading!
The main objective of this paper is to highlight the problem of domestic violence in West Bengal, a state of India, and how it is affecting the working women in general. As we all know the problem of domestic violence is a very common issue and it exits everywhere regardless of the socioeconomic status of a country. The core of this matter has an intimate connection with the structure of the society which is male-dominated or in other words, patriarchal. The above-mentioned statement is definitely controversial, but do we have any other choice to refute or negate the fact that women are always considered as less empowered than men? I may sound feminist, but I believe, feminism is a scholarly male-oriented construct, which separates women from the mass and marginalises their identity. Now the question is what is my hypothesis and how do I prove this? Here my argument stands on some basic viewpoints. Firstly, this paper is not an empirical study which only deals with information and the narration of that information. Rather it will be focusing more on the analysis of the present situation in West Bengal and the way outs if there are any. Secondly, the issue of domestic violence is neither academic nor entertaining; it represents hard core social reality. So the discussion on this topic portrays a subtle approach to look into the matter, where emotion plays the role of a catalyst. Thirdly, the stance of the state and the involvement of the private organisations surely help to know the truth, but truth can be also half or hidden, so an impartial method of enquiry has been adopted by the author to situate where do the victims stand and how they are coping up with the actual situation. It would be really apt if I begin my discussion with a proper definition of domestic violence. Though I believe it is certainly unrealistic and futile to describe what domestic violence is, as it has polygonal perpetual characteristics, which are increasing day by day, still to feed our so called hunger for knowledge gathering, we define violence in the context of domesticity. According to 'The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005, Act No.43 Of 2005', domestic violence is an action which " harms or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse…(Chapter 2) " In this Chapter , in the section, Explanation 1, there are the legal descriptions of different kinds of abuses, but most of these explanations need to be more specific and straight. There are only two lines in this chapter to describe " sexual abuse " which points out " any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of women; "
Section 498A was introduced in 1983 by the Criminal Law (Second) Amendment Act in the Indian Penal Code. It recognizes cruelty against a married woman by her husband and in-laws as a crime for which it lays down punishment of imprisonment which may extend up to three years and/or fine. Seen as a significant legal provision introduced after extensive pressure from women activists and lawyers besides being discussed in the Parliament during the 1980s, it criminalized violence within homes for the first time and empowered married women who faced violence in the marital house to raise their voice against such abuse. Section 498A puts the onus on the State to remedy the situation of women facing torture in the `sacred’ private familial domain. However, over the years it has been seen that domestic violence is being treated as a lesser crime by the police as well as the judiciary who constitute the primary agencies for enforcement and implementation of this law. The state, in fact, is reluctant to act against the perpetrators of violence. Instead of addressing the existing social realities or expanding the definition of domestic violence to include other forms of crimes against women within homes, less attention is paid to abuse inflicted within the families. Rather, an unreasonable and baseless myth of abuse and misuse of Section 498A has been propagated to underplay the seriousness of the crime committed within the four walls of the house. The state promotes the normative ideal of conjugality and in the process, ends up reinforcing gender injustice. This results in a scenario where those working with the victims of domestic violence use Section 498A as a strategic and pragmatic tool to bring the husband to the negotiating table to arrive at a samjhauta (compromise). Therefore, instead of punishing the guilty, the legal system is being manipulated to arrive at a `settlement’ with the accused. One of the fallouts of such an action is a lower conviction rate. Instead of making a dent on the patriarchal social order, this legal provision has been used to reiterate existing biases and stereotypes against women. The situation today is that domestic violence is treated as a `social crime’ when compared with violence by strangers, even though it is much more severe in nature. Why is wife beating considered as a lesser crime by the state, society and the law? Why is the perpetrator of this crime not held accountable for his actions? Why are different parameters and standards of justice utilized when a woman is abused? Why has the criminal justice system failed to deliver justice to the victims of domestic violence? How effective is the strategy adopted by the women’s movement in India whereby a heavy emphasis is placed on legal reforms to achieve the goal of gender justice? Why has the state failed to see women as autonomous citizens outside the construct of family or kinship? Why could the remedies beyond the law, such as provision of shelter homes or material and economic support for women not be implemented? This study examines these questions while using secondary data and refers to the multidisciplinary research studies and reports on the issue from the perspectives of the survivors to focus on a `bubble up’ approach rather than the `top down’ style of understanding the issue of domestic violence.
RELATED PAPERS
RELATED TOPICS
- Find new research papers in:
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Health Sciences
- Ecology
- Earth Sciences
- Cognitive Science
- Mathematics
- Computer Science