Written by Poonam Pandey

New Delhi: Is not establishing physical relationship under the pretext of marriage a crime? If it is so, then under what category? Though South Korea has done away with decades old law targeting men which convicted them for having sex with women under false pretext of marriage; the same in under debate in India. Men’s rights organizations in India are demanding similar change in law in India as well though slightly different however, the women’s rights are supporting it fully.

What happened in South Korea?: Scrapping the law in South Korea, the Supreme Court observed that it was against a woman’s interest as it treated women as “kids” and was against the principles of equality of both the genders.

Men’s Rights Organizations’ view: Says, Virag Dhulia, founder member of All India Men’s Welfare Association, “Often this law is being misused. Having sex under false pretext of marriage cannot be considered rape. It is against the fundamental right granted under Constitution to consider it as rape and many women are misusing it. It may come under some other law, but certainly not under rape. And there cannot be any gender bias in this.”

Women too favor it: Women activists also find it hard to believe that an adult woman can be waylaid to have sex under false pretext of marriage. As per Anjali Sinha, women’s rights activist, it can come under cheating. If two adults are entering into a relationship with mutual consent then there is nothing wrong in it. If the girl is adult then it is not possible to dupe her into false pretext of marriage. If married people can take divorce with mutual consent, then even lovers should have the freedom to part ways if things fall apart. If at times they were together, then their views can change as well. I believe it will make more of a case of cheating than rape.

What does the law say?: Mahesh Tiwari, Supreme Court Advocate, says that if a woman complains that physical relation was established with her under false pretext of marriage then after examining the medical certificate and on the basis of allegations, a rape case can be filed. Though, in many cases, the courts have dropped charges of rape taking into consideration circumstances and duration of stay, however, prima facie such matters are converted into rape cases and thus registered.

Merriam-Webster’s definition of resilience:

1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

Obstacles and disappointments are some of the few guarantees in life that will occur in a regular basis. I understand (now) the importance of deeloping thick skin and becoming resilient against odds and obstacles. In fact, I find it important to identify potential obstacles and turn those into opportunities. Last night at the gym I noticed a gentleman’s shirt with the quote, “Your pain is your gain.”

While web surfing in search of articles I stumbled upon a Winston Churchill quote: When you’re going through hell, just keep going.

Here are some things worked for my own personal resilience challenge:
1) I realize I am not crazy when I’m extremely angrey or upset. Expressing emotions is my right and I shouldn’t have to feel inadequate  or “unlady-like” because of such expressions.

2)Anger, fear, disappointment and frustration are all valid emotions.

3) What do I want at the end of this situation?

4) What do I currently control?

5) What are some of the things that are beyond my control?

6) What immediate action can I do for short-term relief?

7) What’s the game plan for long term relief and to achieve the end result?

Above all…remember your feelings are valid and just keep on going…

The recent bollywood flick “Jail” by Madhur Bhandarkar deserves an applaud. It not only exposes the real truth behind the so glorified dowry cases (all of which are false) and how Section 498A is being misused by women to extort men, but also exposes  the truth of Indian Judiciary. Treat your eyes,

That, marriage has become tumultuous, for Indian men, is no longer a hidden fact as evident from the huge media coverage given to men’s rights activists recently. And the myth about marriage, as projected in Indian context – “Blissful for men and torturous for women” – is coming to its logical end with the rise of men’s rights organizations like the Save Indian Family Foundation, the All India Men’s Welfare Association, etc.

A lot of false propaganda had been done by radical gender based extremists about women facing problems in marriage to the tune that unconstitutional and anti-male laws have been framed to finish off men systematically. And because male-disposability comes natural to the society these whimsical stories about men as oppressors and women as oppressed were never challenged.

This led to severe problems of men and they were under-reported as well because the society was not ready to accept men as weak otherwise who would risk their lives to protect the society. Every man on earth has faced this bias at some point of his life and he is trained to accept it as a way of life.

As a result male suicides increased a lot and at the same time the society holding men responsible for everything increased their expectations from them. One of the worst expectations was the PRIMARY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY the severity of which often goes under-reported. Men think it’s their duty and tolerate the abuse therein. And divorce proceedings are the worse that a man has to go through in India.

In addition to facing the mental stress, a man has to fight several false cases in multiple jurisdictions, pay maintenance and alimony to estranged wives who leave no stone unturned in ruining the reputation of the man by spreading false rumors about him. And the most unnoticed abuse of men is the financial abuse wherein invariably men are forced to pay hefty alimonies irrespective of wife’s fault.

But one such man has turned the tables. It’s Kalaisevan from Chennai who has sought 25 Lakhs in alimony from his well-settled wife because he lost all his fortunes due to the false cases she filed on him. Read the news here.

This is path breaker news as it is the first step towards breaking the myth that under all circumstances, ubiquitously and stereotypically men have to shell out aristocratic alimonies to their estranged wives irrespective of the man’s sufficient means and the woman’s earning potential. Kalai has taken an exemplary and revolutionary step to show the world how to demand your right as a man.

If many other men start following suit shunning inhibitions of being a male then the movement of men’s rights has no impedance. However, most men do not do it because they are Stolid; whereas even if they have not contributed anything to the marriage, women feel no qualms in demanding a fortune from the man because women are Sordid.

And currently marriage between this set of Stolid Men and Sordid Women has become like a necessary evil for men. Because the current socio-financial structures are so placed that a man without marriage is not considered complete. Young men are thrown into marriage otherwise they are denied a dignified social life unless they are extremely high achievers like Abdul Kalam Azad or Atal Behari Vajpayee.

That means that an ordinary man has to marry and has to bow down before his wife (courtesy Supreme Court judge Markenday Katju) or else face a social death. Most of the banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies force men to make their wives as beneficiaries. This is imposition on men. When the society does not protect and respect the basic rights of a man, it has no right or Locus Standi whatsoever to impose things on a man as well.

Non-funded men’s helplines like the Save Indian Family Foundation and the All India Men’s Welfare Association receive about 10,000 calls a month from distressed men most of whom who contemplate suicidal tendencies.

So in a nutshell, if a man does not marry or remains separated / divorced he faces a social death and in marriage he has no protection and is expected to tolerate a tumultuous marriage or else face legal wrath. All in all, men need to be liberated from this cobweb of imposed responsibilities and constant struggle to survive.

And the only way to this liberation is to close down the institution of marriage and this has to be done by men only. As long as marriage – in its current form – exists there is no respite in sight for men. Choice lies with men.

With Kalai’s bold step of asking alimony from wife for ruining his life, he has molten the tip of the iceberg, with men deciding not to marry the iceberg will melt.

Bengaluru, Nov. 20: When a city police inspector claims that he was in two different places at a given time on the same day, something seems to have gone terribly wrong.

The officer is A. Manjunath, currently serving as police inspector with city special branch. He was inspector at Yeshwanthpur police station when the incident happened in 2007.

According to the station diary, Manjunath was at the station and with an accused, writing a panchnama at the same time. On another day, he claims he was busy recording the statement of five witnesses, while his official papers say he was on leave, sanctioned by none other than his DGP!

The police also seems to have duped the court by submitting a dead man’s witness statement, which made the court even issue summons asking the deceased to be present for the hearing.

Mr R. Kumar (name changed) was accused of dowry harassment by his wife who visited the station on July 26, 2007. “She filed a complaint at 1.45 pm. Inspector Manjunath claims he visited my residence between 2 pm and four pm on the same day for panchanama. But his station diary shows he was present in the station till 4 pm”, claimed Kumar.

Again, Manjunath claims that he recorded the statements of five witnesses on July 30, 2007 including one of a doctor. “But his office files say he was in Mysore after getting two days’ leave, sanctioned by his DGP,” said Kumar.

More intriguing is the fact that one of the witnesses had died the previous day on July 29, after he spent more than 10 hours in coma. So how did the inspector took his statement?

According to R. Kumar, the trouble begun soon after his wife filed the dowry harassment complaint. “Just one month after our marriage, I realised that my wife was suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. On questioning her, she admitted to a premarital affair with another man” he said.

Later, she returned to her parents after a gynaecologist advised her treatment. “We mutually decided to go for a divorce and approached the family court in 2005. But I was shocked when she filed a dowry harassment complaint against me” said 32-year-old Kumar, a private company employee.

He also alleged that Manjunath not only detained him illegally for a day, but pestered him to shell out money to ‘settle the issue’.

“Dejected over the false allegations, my 62-year-old father attempted suicide by consuming poison. Instead of showing some mercy, the Yeshwanthapur police even threatened to arrest me”, says Kumar, who later approached Lokayukta with all the documents, which he obtained with the help of RTI. According to Kumar, Lokayukta asked the police officer about obtaining a dead man’s statement on which Manjunath claimed he took his statement on July 29, 2007, hours before he died. “Again his office records say he was on bundobust duty following a strike by KSRTC employees” said Kumar.

The investigating police officials have erred right from the FIR to the witness statement” claimed Kumar.

When contacted, Manjunath said the confusion over the date was because of a technical and manual error. “The computer operator wrongly entered the date as July 30 instead of July 29. In a hurry, I signed a letter dated July 30,” he said. He however refused to comment further on the issue.

By: With Alisha Coelho, Kranti Vibhute and Urvashi Seth

‘Harassed’ by female colleagues, MiD DAY reporter Varun Singh finds nobody is willing to help a man in distress. P.S. it’s International men’s day

When a woman complains to a bystander that she has been molested or someone is following her, the guy is at the receiving end of abuse or a few punches, knocking the air from his lusty sails.

On International Men’s Day, today, we witnessed that the same treatment is not meted out to men who are harassed.

Bachao! Urvashi, Alisha and Kranti pretend to harass Varun, but none of these men came to his aid.

We got MiD DAY female reporters to harass Varun Singh in full view of passersby yesterday. Not a single person, including cops, came to his aid.

Bus Karo

Mahalaxmi bus stop

I walked towards the bus stop with my supposed trio of tormentors following me at a distance.

Two men who were chatting with each other at the bus stop stopped mid conversation and looked on interestedly as the girls and I staged a ‘fight’.

Hey, Handsome! The girls, Alisha, Urvashi and Kranti, harass Varun at a bus stop in Mahalaxmi. The men look on passively.

One of the girls asked me my name and even started pulling my bag.

I asked the men for help, but they looked on in stony silence.

I kept requesting the men to help me out but they watched me like they were watching a film. When I kept prodding, one of them said, “What can we do? We can’t help you out!”

Chowky jao, band bajao

Haji Ali junction

I approached a traffic police officer, who was already stressed with the heavy traffic on the junction.

I told him the three women (pointing to my colleagues) have been following me since Mahalaxmi and were passing lewd comments.

Get Those Girls: Varun Singh asks this traffic cop to help him, as the girls were following him and passing lewd comments.

The traffic cop responded saying, “I cannot help you. Please go to the police chowky.”

So I told him that the girls were right here and so he should act immediately, but the police officer insisted I go to the chowky and even gave me a piece of advice.

“Arre, go to the chowky and these girls will follow you there.”

Legal blocks

Esplanade court

I went to the Esplanade  court in the afternoon and approached a lawyer, and told him I have to register a complaint.

The lawyer said  he would help and told  me to tell him my story. I said that three girls were teasing me and no one helped out.

The change was dramatic. He said he couldn’t help me and I would have to “get a complaint registered with the police at Haji Ali.”

Help Me, Please: Varun Singh approaches a lawyer at Esplanade court.

I reminded him that he had mentioned that it was not important to register a complaint at Haji Ali, but the lawyer seemed to have a sudden and convenient attack of amnesia.

I asked him how could I find him again (after filing my complaint at the police station). He said, “I am always here. I will be standing here.”

However, he refused to give me his number. I asked for his name and he said, “I am Swami, ask anyone about me,” and vanished in a flash of black and white.

Men’s Day

International Men’s Day is celebrated on November 19 every year.

It started in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago and was supported by the United Nations and received in principal, support from men’s groups in USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Case Study

Savio D’souza, a victim of wife harassment, approached the law for help, but came away disappointed. He said, “My wife got a divorce in the church. She used to come home drunk at 3 am and beat me.

We have separated, but she’s staying in my house and I had to stay on the streets for nearly 18 months.”

Today, Savio and nearly 500 such men will march to Matralaya from Mulund, to protest the law which doesn’t give any relief to a man who is harassed by his wife or a women.

The march will comprise members of Protect Indian Family Foundation, Save Indian Family and Child Welfare Family Foundation, all of whom work for protecting the rights of men.

The men are protesting against 498 A (dowry harassment). They will submit a letter to the home ministry asking for an amendment in the law to protect men.

We are excited to announce a new donor travel program at the Global Fund for Women!  In partnership with Elevate Destinations, we plan to conduct two trips per year to visit grantee partners in countries around the world.  This November, we traveled with a  small group of donor partners on a pilot trip to the south of India.  Over the next couple weeks, we will be sharing first-person accounts from the staff and donor partners who went on the trip. Our first publicly announced trip will take place in the Spring of 2010 to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – details to come.  For more information, please contact Heather Masaki at hmasaki@globalfundforwomen.org.

By Crystal Haling

Streets of Plenty

Bangalore is unbelievable. People, people, people. Construction everywhere and perhaps destruction too. Everything is half torn down, or half built – hard to tell which. Cars, buses, rickshaws, cows and motorbikes. This place screams capitalistic progress. I’ve never imagined traffic like this. Day and night, all senses assaulted while walking in damp muggy air, definitely very Bladerunner. Modern meets ancient masala.

But early morning we board the bus for the Kolar District which is about 3 hours and 75 years away from Bangalore. I am excited to meet the women of Grameena Mahila Okkuta (or GMO as they call themselves). This women’s

Listening to stories

self-help organization,  has 8,500 members of more than 500 rural self-help groups in 240 villages in this extremely poor region of India. We are greeted at noon by a gorgeous group of women who have waited excitedly for our arrival since early morning.

It is impossible for a black woman visiting India not to notice skin color. Most of these women look like they could be relatives of mine. Dark, beautiful skin–impossible to tell their ages.

GMO’s membership is 83% Dalits (historically referred to as untouchables) and other minorities. Indian TV, street signs and ads have 0% images of these women.

This is not an aid organization; it’s a rights based advocacy group. They are fighting for their rights in their marriages, in their villages, in this country where progress often means ignoring communities where communal land ownership and ancient farming practices aren’t just quaint ideals, but mean the difference between starvation and sustenance

One woman told us of their lives before joining GMO “We were ruled by men. We were totally oppressed.” But not anymore. What they have achieved: more than 200 women now own land in their own names; they have become members of their local villages’ school, leadership and

sanitation committees; 3 of the women we met are local elected officials. These women are not literate. Married off sometime after age 12 or 13.

As these women stood and shared their stories, this villages’ first elected woman council member said, “I am illiterate but I perform well because I don’t take bribes. Thanks to GMO we have no fear to talk to anyone.”

Boys, and especially girls, are excited to show us their school in this little village.

What impresses me most, aside from their courage, is their deep analysis of why their villages are poor. Their primary issues are water and land rights, which they see as linked to women’s rights and human rights. Women as keepers of ancient culture and participants in defining progress.

Crystal Haling is a supporter of the Global Fund for Women who was part of the pilot donor trip to south India.

Written by P K Surendran

The “dominant sex”— male — is not so dominant after all. Forming solidarity on the eve of International Men’s Day (IMD) on Thursday, pro-men activists in Bangalore are set to launch an All India Men’s Welfare Association and demand creation of a Men’s Welfare Ministry, among other things.

The Association has drafted a charter that asks for a holiday on IMD, paternity leave, and a study on the treatment men get in different spheres of socio-economic life. The Association has asked all male employees in Bangalore to take mass leave on Thursday and “declare their independence and celebrate their freedom”.

“Man is depicted as a fiend who is out to exploit women. It’s reflected in the societal attitude, right from the mother’s lap and lasts till the grave,” bemoans Virag Dhulia, a researcher for the Save Indian Family Foundation that was formed a few years ago to provide legal succour to men fighting marital cases.

Virag is rich in details and ladles out examples where men are silent sufferers: “First, discrimination comes in the form of false image of dominance: man should not cry, he should shoulder responsibility for the welfare of women, he must do all risky tasks. Giving them false values are the scriptures that put man at a psychological disadvantage. In society, right from the elementary schools to the judiciary, he is suspect till he proves himself otherwise.”

“The government even has an Animal Welfare Board but the sex that gives 82 per cent tax revenue and does all the unpleasant and hazardous jobs, the fruit of which is mainly enjoyed by women, have no place in India’s scheme of things,” regrets the new body’s website aimwa.info launched on Monday. “Men,” it exhorts, “let’s unite and fight societal attitude, not women.”

“No, we are not against women. We’re for gender parity,” clarifies Vivek Deveshwar, another activist in the forefront. “Men face humiliation in every step. For instance, government gives great importance to breast cancer and blood cancer in women, but hardly anything on prostrate cancer, a disease men are prone to. In advertisements and cartoons, a male is portrayed as stupid, while women are witty and smart.”

Mithun Kumar, one of the leaders, told DNA, “In every step, a man suffers ignominy. To take the latest example, look at how the media treated the case of a woman who barged into the marriage hall. The man had no voice, nobody believed him or asked for his view.” Kumar says even the World Economic Forum keeps harping on the dwindling population of girls without any valid study.

“It’s unfortunately true that men are becoming victims of ‘legal terrorism’ unleashed through laws like Indian Penal Code Section 498A, Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, adultery laws and many other laws, all loaded against men,” says veteran lawyer of many fights, MG Kumar.

PRESS RELEASE

Sub: Launching the Bangalore Chapter of the All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA)

About AIMWA:

All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA) was launched in Hyderabad on the 11^th October 2009 to work in the area of elimination of all kinds of discrimination against boys and men. Today, this press conference is being conducted to launch the Bangalore Chapter of the same.

Why Men’s Welfare:

Ask someone about the problems of women and a list would emerge that would never seem to end. Ask about men’s problems and all one sees is blank faces. Does that mean that men do not have any problems? Or is it that there is no awareness for the same, as mirrored in the statement – “Absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence.”?

1. If we look back, in the last 62 years of Indian Independence not a single rupee has ever been allocated for men’s welfare from the Union Budget.
2. Not a single constitutional or quasi-constitutional body ever been formed to study men’s issues.
3. Not a single study otherwise also ever been conducted targeted to study men’s issues.
4. Not a single scheme ever been envisaged for men’s welfare.

Hence, in the backdrop of this emptiness, the Government and the society have absolutely no Locus-Standi to deny accepting men’s issues or avoid addressing them. And it is this emptiness which has led to the formation of AIMWA, to study men’s issues and demand for a National Commission for Men and Men’s Welfare Ministry.

Men and their identity:

Today, expectations from men have skyrocketed and acceptance levels for them have nosedived. In fact, there is no limitation to expectations from men and no acceptance of their limitations.

Today men are expected to,

1. Take care of extended families of parents, siblings, wife, in-laws and provide for them,
2. Take huge financial burdens and risks by undertaking various kinds of loans like home loan, car loan, education loan for siblings to name a few.
3. Undertake the primary financial responsibility of the house even if the wife is well-qualified, well-earning and capable to share the financial load.
4. Sponsor the education of young in-laws and their expensive visas and foreign degrees.
5. Bow down before their wives or face Legal Terrorism viz. misuse of Section 498A and Domestic Violence Act.
6. Act as FREE ATM MACHINES and SPERM DONORS.

And not only for the above, men have been expected to undertake the most risky and laborious jobs since time immemorial and also have been expected to be the de-facto PROTECTOR as well. It is not unusual to expect a 10 years old male child to escort and protect 30 years old able-bodied female aunty and it is also not unusual to expect a young boy to take charge when some monkey enters a household in rural areas.

However, at the same time, the de-facto protector is left unprotected with no protection available to him. Additionally, men are emotionally castrated right from the age of 6 as they are discouraged from expressing their pains and feelings. Dialogues like, “Do not cry like a girl”, “Be a man” are quite normal for the society to a 6 year old boy whose psyche and identity is just evolving. And the impact of these statements is so deep that the boy develops a fear of self-expression and remains numb to abuse the rest of his life.

As a result, men are finding emotional confrontations extremely painful when they grow up and most men contemplate suicidal tendencies during emotional turmoil in their relationship and a reasonable percentage of them actually commit suicide. The same is corroborated by suicide statistics,

1. 2005: 52583 married men committed suicide vis-à-vis 28188 married women.
2. 2006: 55452 married men committed suicide vis-à-vis 29869 married women.
3. 2007: 57593 married men committed suicide vis-à-vis 30064 married women.

Other than these, men face domestic violence from their wives and in-laws in the form of physical, emotional, mental, verbal and economic abuse. Added to this neither the society (including psychologists and marriage counselors) provides these men with any communication channel nor does the Government offer any legal relief.

Some other forms of harassment and discrimination faced by men,

1. Men pay more taxes than women at the same salary level.
2. Men are provided no protection against sexual harassment at workplace and against rape.
3. Men do not have the choice of being a domestic engineer, social engineer or into creative paths. Irrespective of his likes and willingness a man is forced to don the role of the breadwinner for the family or else face a social death.
4. Men are not accepted by the society the way they are; as human beings.
5. Men are not provided with a communication channel – a channel that listens to them without invalidating their feelings or justifying their problems.
6. No schemes are being furthered either by the Government or eminent social celebrities for boys the way they are happening for girls. This has led to more boys dropping out of school as per various media reports. Ultimately the boys are left under-trained to satiate the expectations as they grow up to be men and are developing resenting feelings towards the society which is leading to a lot of socio-legal problems.
7. There is no concept of MEN’s RIGHTS, only RESPONSIBILITIES and DUTIES are there in store for them.

National Commission for Women – The Enemy in the veil:

1. Very recently, in the case of alleged complaint of sexual harassment by an airhostess of Air India, it was clearly observed that the air-hostess had violated the rules of Air India and entered the cockpit when she was not supposed to and later on, she filed a false complaint of sexual harassment against the innocent pilots. Though innocent, the pilots were forced to take a bail, following an arrest, due to adverse media hype given to the case and unethical handling of the issue by the National Commission for Women (NCW) – the hotbed of male hatred.

1. Also, on the 12^th of October 2009, the NCW proposed radical and vicious recommendations in Section 125 CrPC (maintenance for wife, children and parents) asking for “maintenance to adulterous wives” and forcing man to pay maintenance “irrespective of his sufficient means”.
2. Despite the fact that in rape and dowry cases, the testimony of the complainant is given a very high priority the NCW demands for death penalty in the two cases. On the other hand, at the same time the NCW is not ready to address the issue of Domestic Violence faced by unmarried daughters from their parents and by elderly mothers-in-law from their daughters-in-law.

It is very clear that under the barb and paradoxical veil of “Women Empowerment”, the NCW is perpetrating male-hatred and is working like a “National Commission against Men” instead of “National Commission for Women”.

On the occasion of 19^th November the INTERNATIONAL MEN’s DAY AIMWA places the following of its demands from the Government and the society:

1. Form National Commission for Men to study issues of men and provide the Government with recommendations for Men’s welfare.
2. Institute Men’s Welfare Ministry that will implement the recommendations of the National Commission for Men on behalf of the Government.
3. Abolish all anti-male gender biased laws.
4. Close down the National Commission for Women.
5. Rationalize the tax provisions to make them gender neutral.
6. Form welfare schemes for boys and girls unilaterally.
7. Form an ombudsman to regulate the anti-male quotient in media, television and films.
8. Allow single adult men to adopt children before the age of 30.
9. Do not force men to don the role of the breadwinner against their wish and give them a choice about their life.

10.  Address health issues of men like prostate cancer, short life expectancy, high suicide rates, etc with seriousness.

11.  Government should urge the private sector to come up with Health Products specifically targeted to diseases affecting men in large numbers.

12.  The World Economic Forum should start recognizing men as human beings as well as study and publish Gender Index of Men besides that for women alone.

AIMWA aims to work for men’s welfare and urge the Government and the society to take serious note of the problems of men.

Thanks and Regards

All India Men’s Welfare Association, Bangalore

Dowry law is being heavily misused

Now battered men have HRIDAYA to their relief

Even though we have celebrated over 60 independence days as a democratic nation it has become imperative to address some of the key elements of ‘Democracy’ for our honorable parliamentarians. Instead of using stereotypical “For the people by the people bla bla bla” let me borrow simple and straight forward definitions from Stanford University, which says democracy is

1. A political system for choosing and replacing the Govt through free and fair elections.
2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life.
3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens.
4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

I’m intentionally ignoring the first two points in order to keep it short and to come to the core of this article before making you bored. Ever since the division of India we have seen militants of various forms taking away lot of innocent lives; on top of that the declaration of emergency had literally made Police a horrendously vicious department of ‘militants’ in khakis. But after a while state of emergency got withdrawn, Constitution was said to be restored but did the Police change?

Commissions after commissions were formed to refine Police but all of those commission reports are kept absolutely safe in the Govt shelves, waiting for implementation. One of those reports is 30 years old as of 2009! Fact of the matter is we are still following British Colonial police Act, 1861 or Acts which are heavily based on it.

What made me remind all these to our honorable parliamentarians is the letter which Ministry of Home Affairs send on 2009 October 13th, to all the State governments, Chief Secretaries, DGPs of all states and the Administrations of the Union Territories advising them that arrest for an alleged offence under Section 498A should be the “last resort,” not the first step.

As we all know how much our police department is obliged to obey a mere letter where they have never learned to respect the law itself and various court orders. Supreme Court of India had already ruled the same concept of arrests way back in 1994, not just for offenses that come under a particular section of penal code. Seems like Ministry of Home Affairs is trying to dilute the court order by downsizing the scope only to IPC section 498a.

Another point which needs the highest degree of concerns of all the citizens in the world’s largest democratic nation is the reason that Ministry of home affairs gave for not repealing the most misused section that Indian Penal Code has ever seen;

“Opposition from women organistions”!!!

It is evident from the letter that Govt of India has acknowledged the grave issue but at the same time admitting that Govt is dysfunctional.

Now the question what remains is “Are we ruled by Women organisations or did they hijack the Government of India”?

This is a true story based on a funny incident involving three friends.

Vishal, Das and Suraj are three friends and also members of an NGO fighting for men’s rights. Suraj has filed cases against a State Government for alleged injustices against him. He wanted to ensure whether warrant has been served on the police officers against whom he had filed the cases.

However, Suraj does not stay in the city in which the police had done injustices to him. Vishal and Das were however quite conversant with city routes. They were supposed to go the office of the Deputy Commissioner of the Police. Vishal and Das had a slight idea of the place. They hire a taxi to the place. The driver drops them a little further from the spot. So they walk a little distance.

However, unable to trace the spot, they asked some local bystanders who guided them to the spot telling them it’s walk-able from there. But on the insistence of Suraj, they hire another taxi. Barely 200 meters into the taxi and the driver inquired, “Is this the place, you want to go?”

Suraj answered with a stern and confident NO telling that he knew it’s a little further ahead. The driver keeps going. After coming about a kilometer ahead, on inquiring again, they come to know it was the same spot the driver had told a while earlier.

And so they are forced to take a “U-turn” and reach a place 200 meters away after traveling an unnecessary 2 Kms. After reaching the spot and while alighting the taxi, Vishal tells Das, “This was the Most Unwanted U-Turn ever taken in my life.

This incident tells us something very important about life and its involved myriad complexities. Suraj is involved in multifarious litigations, initiated by his wife in a bid to separate him from his only and beloved daughter and is using the entire state machinery against him at her disposal to satisfy her whims and fancies.

The kind of opposition that Suraj was facing from the societal attitude towards him, the myriad laws pitted against a husband and a father, any person would have easily succumbed to but for Suraj backed by the most prominent men’s rights organization in India. The stark opposition and the unrelenting attitude made a commando outta Suraj who vowed not to bend down before injustice but fight against it.

However, as he went into a 24X7 mode of fighting, he could not think of anything else other than his fight against injustice. Suraj was secretly enjoying his fight as it gave him a psychological kick and his focus on the issue made him a sharp-shooter. However, what Suraj forgot was that even a sharp-shooter takes off from his shooting practice and performs silence to sharpen his shooting skills and firing finesse.

This is very important. If we do not take the much needed periodic mental, psychological, emotional and physical breaks we end up taking “Unwanted U-turns” in our life. Choice belies with us – whether we want “Unwanted U-Turns” in life or “Planned Sharp Turns?

My beginning at the YWCA movement was such an ordinary thing that nobody, not even myself, could believe that it could go and fly far than I can ever imagine.

Back in second year highschool, my friends and I joined in the election of officers of the new club— the Y-TEENS of YWCA Baguio Chapter. We just joined in for the desire to collect additional membership and officership points to our academic portfolio to bring us up in the honor roll. We had no idea and interest in knowing the purpose of the YWCA. All we knew was that the composition was primarily girl members…which didn’t make it even more exciting because we want to be with the boys!

Time passed by fast. One Y-Teen activity led to another. Until my friends and I found ourselves having the YWCA Baguio Headquarters as our second home. Unconsciously, we were already being led to a life that was extra-ordinary for teens. A life of clean fun full of worthwhile activities. A life offered to community service, with focus on women and girls.

I thought that YWCA was just a thing of the ever happy highschool life. But I found myself still being involved in its programs despite the very busy and demanding schedule in the university. This stage was the toughest testing time for me and my friends. Sad to say that in this part of the journey, I lost most of my highschool friends as active colleagues in the YWCA movement.

After college, I was the only leftover of my strong “YWCA gang” in highschool. No more loud voices to back me up. It was even a tougher time for me since I was starting a career. Then I started experiencing the reality in NGOs. I’ve seen the imperfections that can be a source of disappointment for young volunteers like me. But with the continuous support of my National YWCA friends and with the goodness of God, I strongly remained in the movement.

I was blessed with a lot of opportunities to work closely with the National YWCA of Philippines. The best was the chance to lead the National Youth Coordinating Council. I love to be with my fellow young women. We share so many things in common— interests, hobbies, jokes, celebrity crushes, etc. etc.! We can always be ourselves and go wacky without the fear of rejection. It has always been fun to be with the youth. I never thought youthful fun and advocacy can be a good fit. Nothing was seen not worthy of our time and effort. It was not “corny” to discuss about issues that affect us. Simple learning seminars were received with open minds and excitement.

I believe that my faithfulness in the movement blessed me even more. I was again given the opportunity to be part of the World Council 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya and even made it to be elected as a World Board Member for the quadrennium 2007-2011. It was a dream-come-true that I never even imagined.

At first, the thought of being able to go to Geneva, Switzerland sounded so exciting. World YWCA Headquarters. Europe. Cold weather. The Alps. Chocolates. Swiss clocks and watches. Whew! What else can I ask for?!

But the thought that I would be working with excellent and distinguished women at the World YWCA made me scared to travel and attend the meetings. I still had insecurities then. I was not even so confident with my English proficiency. I thought that my fellow Board Members would have the advantage of sharing their opinions since English is their first language.

But then again, I proved myself wrong. My first World Board Meeting in 2007 was truly memorable. It made me realize that though YWCA is an NGO, still it is  into serious business. It is not just talk talk but sensible talk and walking the talk. It is not about politics but real community service. It is about involving ourselves to create change. It is not only about ourselves but the community, the nations, the world. When we say, we want to empower women and girls, we really mean it. We want impact. We focus on advocacy issues. And the list goes on and on.

What I admire most in working with the World YWCA is its effort to indeed empower young women leaders. There was more than 25% of young women composition in the current World Board. I could honestly feel that my voice is heard and considered. I am young but I am not taken for granted. I am trusted with responsibilities without prejudice to my age or origin. At first, I thought it was too good to be true. But through time, I have proven that it is true. The World YWCA best models the involvement and development of young women in decision making. My baptism-by-fire moments made me frozen at first but better and stronger after.  Indeed, it has always been a fulfilling experience every time I attend a World Board Meeting in Geneva.

The officers, board members, and staff at the World YWCA are excellent, awesome, and interesting personalities. It exemplifies unity in diversity. There are respect and love for and from everyone. It is a great family to belong to. I can truly feel that I am part of it. Every YWCA leader is a good source of knowledge, skills, and inspiring experiences in the movement.

I know that my YWCA commitment would not only peak at my involvement in the World YWCA. I could just be so thankful that I have the chance to be involved in policy making that guides the membership of 25 million women and girls around the globe. in 126 countries. I still believe that there are a lot of opportunities around me in which I can live out my being a Y’er. This is what I want my fellow young women leaders to realize. It’s not all heaven up there at the World YWCA. It’s so much work than you can ever imagine. You don’t need to be there just so you can contribute something for the cause that we’re pushing. Start in your local youth club and see where it goes from there. Remember how I started?

God’s plan always unfolds in due time.  I believe that there is still so much in store for me at the World YWCA. The learning, fun, and excitement grow more and more each year. With the good training that the YWCA of the Philippines offer to young women members, I believe that there can be more of us Filipina women that can be part of the World YWCA Board. We can do it!

I have flown far and wide with the YWCA through my local, national, and world involvement. I have faith that there is still a lot of flying to do…flying in the high hopes of bringing the change that we want to see in ourselves, in our neighbors, communities, and nations. We all fly with God as we follow our Christian calling.

Let us all fly with Y!

Maria with World YWCA General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda (Zimbabwe) & President Susan Brennan (Australia)

To,

Sub: Invitation for Press Conference on Monday, 9^th November 2009 at 2: 00 PM at Press Club, Kolkata.

Respected Sir / Madam,

            Hridaya, a non-profit and non-funded NGO, under the aegis of the Save Indian Family Movement, promoting the cause of Gender Equality and Family Harmony, is organizing a Press Conference on 9^th November 2009. This press conference is being conducted to launch Hridaya in Kolkata and to announce our helpline for battered men.

We cordially invite your media correspondents / cameramen to this Press Conference and grace the occasion.

We look forward to your active participation in making the event a grand success.

                                                                                                            Thanks and Regards,

Hridaya,
Kolkata 

Contact Persons

D S Rao 98301 51555

Sub: Announcing the launch of Hridaya – a men’s rights organization under the aegis of Save Indian Family movement.

About Hridaya:

Hridaya is a non-funded non-profit organization under the aegis of the Save Indian Family Movement promoting the cause of men’s rights, family harmony and gender equality. Hridaya also espouses the cause of those grief-stricken families who are victims of misuse of Section 498A (the dowry harassment law), the Domestic Violence Act, Section 125 of CrPC, etc.

Save Indian Family(SIF) is a strong team of dedicated families comprising of victims of “misuse of 498a and other Gender biased Women-Protection laws like Dowry Prohibition Act, Domestic Violence Act, etc.”, including NRIs, Senior citizens who campaign and create awareness about gross injustice and abuse that happen in Indian Legal system.  SIF has over 20 NGOs and 30,000 individuals as its members across the globe.

Hridaya is a member NGO of the SIF network, based in Kolkata, looking after related issues of Kolkata.

Why Hridaya:

Hridaya was launched as day in and day out men were facing harassment in marriages not only from their own wives and in-laws but also from the police, judiciary and the Government. Some problems faced by men,

1. Almost double the numbers of married men are committing suicides every year as compared to married women. Suicide statistics from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) show that in the year 2005, 52583 married men committed suicide vis-à-vis 28188 married women. Similar figures for the years 2006 and 2007 are 55,582 vis-à-vis 29,869 and 57,593 vis-à-vis 30,064 respectively. Is the pain of mother/sister less when she loses a son/brother than when she loses a daughter/sister?
2. Men pay 82% of taxes in India and yet in the last 62 years of Indian Independence not a single rupee has been spent for men’s welfare nor a single study ever conducted to study the issues of men. Are Indian men FREE ATM MACHINES?
3. Whenever a married woman commits suicide, immediately the entire family of husband is thrown into jail without any investigation under the presumption of a dowry death, however, when a married man commits suicide, even after leaving suicide note clearly mentioning the torture underwent at the hands of wife and in-laws, no action is taken by the police unless sustained phone action and activism is done. Why this Gender Bias?
4. As per a study by Center for Social Research, a Government body, there is only 2% conviction rate in cases filed under Section 498A which means in 98% of cases innocent people have been implicated in dowry cases, unnecessary jailed and made to undergo a cruel and unusual legal procedure. Who is responsible for their precarious condition?
5. As per NCRB data, in the last 4 years (2004-2007) 123,000 women have been arrested under section 498A without trial or investigation, merely on the basis of a complaint by the wives of their sons/brothers. These arrests are larger in number than the number of women arrested by the barbaric British Government in 40 years!

Hridaya believes that the Indian Family System is under systematic onslaught with the unleashing of unconstitutional, gender obsessed and poorly drafted laws like Section 498A and the Domestic Violence Act and the general apathy of the society towards men and their families. There are vested western agencies spreading false propaganda about victimization of women and furthering draconian laws onto the society to breakdown the family system of India – the backbone of India’s development and progress.

Activities of Hridaya:

1. Hridaya, under the aegis of the Save Indian Family movement and its allied NGOs all over India like the Save Indian Family Foundation, Save Family Foundation, Indian Family Foundation, Save Family Harmony, etc. will work to create awareness in the society about the misuse of Section 498A, aptly termed as “LEGAL TERRORISM” by the Honorable Supreme Court of India in the landmark judgment Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India. Hridaya will support victims of Legal Terrorism morally and psychologically and provide guidance and counseling to them to fight against the ongoing legal terrorism in Indian under the veil of “Women Empowerment”.
2. Hridaya will vouch against unconstitutional, gender obsessed and draconian laws like Section 498A, the Domestic Violence Act, and support men and their families aggrieved by the marital laws by giving them moral and psychological support in the form of guidance and counseling to fight against Legal Terrorism.
3. Hridaya has launched help lines in West Bengal 98301 51555 and 09437324093, 09040126636f for Orissa  to help men facing marital harassment from their wives and in-laws.
4. Hridaya conducts regular meetings every Saturday from  4PM on every Sunday at Peace Park (vitoria back gate)

Demands of Hridaya:

1. Institute a National Commission for Men that can study issues related to men and provide recommendations to the Government.
2. Form a Men’s Welfare Ministry that will implement the recommendations on behalf of the Government of India and work towards welfare of men.
3. Abolish all gender biased anti-male laws.
4. Rationalize the alimony and maintenance laws.
5. Make Section 498A bailable and non-cognizable.
6. Let Article 51A(e) of the Constitution of India be amended as: 51A. Fundamental duties. — It shall be the duty of every citizen of India — (e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of ‘women and men’ (the clause “and men “at the end be added which does not exist at present)

We request our media friends to help us spread the message of men’s harassment in the society and create awareness about it

Help Line Numbers

98301 51555

www.saveindianfamily.org

Yesterday, i.e. 30^th October 2009 I was witness to the launch function of India’s first ever magazine on legal and corporate affairs, “LEX WITNESS” in Bangalore. The function was presided over by Dr. Justice V S Malimath, Chairman of Law Commission of Karnataka as the Chief Guest and Justice V Gopala Gowda, sitting judge of the High Court of Karnataka and Executive Chairman, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, as Guest of Honor.

It was a very brief function wherein Justice Malimath laid down some benign guidelines for a proper functioning of the magazine as the media and then Justice Gowda gave his thoughts which were really interesting.

Often it happens that when there are inherent insecurities and fears stacked up they come up unasked for and at uncalled for occasions. Something similar happened with Justice Gowda, who came up with concerns like,

1. The judiciary is overburdened.
2. The judiciary should be independent,
3. The judiciary has to protect women.

Let us address each concern.

1. The judiciary is overburdened: Well, this one came in response to Justice Malimath’s comment that the judiciary has a responsibility to deliver quality judgments in addition to disposing the cases off.  And Justice Gowda pop comes up with the justification that there is a huge backlog of cases. Is he forgetting that it is the same judiciary that keeps on admitting cases after cases and takes decades to decide whether to just dispose it or not? Wake up judiciary!
2. The judiciary should be independent: Now that’s a new one. Asking for independence in an independent country! How foolish can it get? And that too independence from whom? The very people for whom the body has been institutionalized and is getting paid hefty salaries from the hard earned money of? Is it not like a servant asking independence from his master and like a kid expecting the master to accept whatever meager quality service he renders? Or does the judiciary want independence so that when some “Mores and Majumdars” openly discriminate against men and deny justice to them, no one should question them? Or when some judge is found with cash-at-door or lands misappropriate to income no should question them? I hope Justice Gowda has satiable answers to these questions before asking for independence. Wake up judiciary!
3. The judiciary has to protect women: Aah! That’s cheating with men. They are brought up with this imbibing thought that they have to protect women, even at the cost of their own lives and the poor fellows do it as well, even when the woman does not ask for and now the judiciary says it wants to protect women. Now, from when did the judiciary started to don that role? Aah, since the majority of the judiciary is men only they have taken upon this task unasked for. So, is it time to throw away 50% of male judges and replace them with female judges? And by the way I must mention here what Justice Gowda defines as a good woman. According to him a good female cook is a good woman! Isn’t that an insult to all the well-meaning and capable women who are just proving their professional worth? Isn’t it also an insult to all those male chefs who cook delicacies in restaurants and motels, eke out a decent living outta it and get complimented for the same as well? And by the way he should also be aware that the women protection laws he wants to further on the society have already been responsible for arrest of 123,000 women under Section 498A, merely on the basis of an unverified and uninvestigated complaint. Wake up judiciary!

It’s high time the Indian judiciary wakes up and takes responsibility for the blunders it is causing in the society just because it wants to sound, “Politically Correct” and preserve its “Independence”. The judiciary has no rights to play with the lives of people and drag their useful and productive years in the precincts of a litigating corridor. Because of the lackadaisical attitude of the judiciary, today criminals have gained confidence and crime is rising in the society because they know it takes 10 minutes to commit a crime and 10 years to get acquitted on “Benefit of doubt” meanwhile the person is free to continue on the crime spree. The judiciary is directly responsible for the deteriorating and decaying trust on law and order and rising crime in the society.

And a truly independent judiciary never even thinks of being independent, because feeling independent is being independent. And therefore I would like to end this article saying

WAKE UP JUDICIARY!

Women and men collectively complete their world; both are immensely obligatory to make a better place for each other, to shore up each other, to walk together and progress and to discharge the gap which could surmount in the absence of anyone of the duo.

The existing state of affairs of women empowerment shows and reflects that they are not less than men in any field and are showcasing their talents all over the place. We have lady doctors, teachers, authors, actors, politicians and so on. Way back in history when the female counterpart were taken as the weaker gender and were constraint in the four walls of the house have now been out ranged and have honed up their undeniable skills of multi tasking, creative and intellectual mind, which overshadows the biasedness towards the men.
In our society where men rule and are towards the broader population when it comes to successful counts women have stood by side and given equal competition. Living in the world where men rule and building up the personality is unquestionably the mark which women have achieved. From Rani lakshmi bai’s brave revolution against the firangs to Indira Gandhi’s phenomenal persona and Hilary Clinton’s remarkable victory which lets her more than just being Bill’s wife but a unique identity. There are several others like Katharine Graham, Caroline Moorehead, Kiran Bedi, Sonia Gandhi, Agatha Christie are just a few to name in the list which can just go on and on.

In spite of the issues that we confront whether at the work place, the society, the family, that men could be the biggest obstacle in a woman’s growth and also can be the most supportive depending on the mind set of the individual, with personal experiences to remember and jot. I feel there are three categories of men who treat women respectively in a different manner:
Type A : men see a woman as a extract, totally disregarded, having a very high attitude towards the inclined gender of theirs….

Type B : consider women as a benchmark for purity and honesty…
and very few of them consider them the same human beings as they themselves are… and I classify them as type C…. amidst a humongous number of type A people a woman find herself secluded…

Like wise the nature goes that I would not go wrong If I take the example of honeybee hive where the Queen, the lady bee takes the entire charge and the males play the aspect of the drones.

Life for a woman to grow amongst the men with their ego and testosterone high is conceivably one of the biggest confront, as learning, improving, honing up skills and multitasking is just another work for any woman but up-beating and keeping a pace with the male ego is perhaps she needs to learn and grow. Considering the fact that today women manage the home and office amazingly well in spite of the fact that they are the physically weaker counter parts but her working hours are the same as that of a man adding on to which she manages and keeps a family, where again a man would be leading one, owning the authorities and setting up few or more expectations with her.

Women entrepreneurs, renowned personalities, women from the entertainment, sport and fashion world including film stars, fashion designers and sports personalities have all succeeded in the places where men were already there as competitors. These ladies have overcome the rules, the myths and surpassed all the constraints which limit their destiny within the four walls of house. Their alluring charm and charisma makes them the most popular women around the globe and persons deserving everyone’s respect. The phrase ‘beauty with brains” truly comes alive through them. Women have made name, fame and money for themselves with their hard work, diligence, competence and will power.

A man comes up with his attitude of being superior over the female, of the feeling that he leads the family, of the grudge that the position what he beholds can not be shared with a more sensitive, emotional foil at the work. They come up with the belief that beauty and brain do not go along, we often come across the male satisfying there shortcomings with such kind of thoughts and those are the one who count the female as less talented and capable when it comes to perform a lucrative job, a creative performance and reaching a remarkable position. Nevertheless, women have always proved all these wrong.

There are often long-established attributes that are assigned to men and women, says Madeline E. Heilman, an expert on workplace sex bias and professor of psychology at New York University. It’s unanimously accepted that women take care of others and nurture, while men are seen as taking charge and being assertive. The problem is, she says, when we map these attributes onto the workplace the male attributes are much more sought after. “I call this the lack of fit,” she explains, because the perceived attributes of women don’t fit the leadership mold. “When women succeed in areas they’re not supposed to they are disapproved of greatly, by everyone, men and women.”

This is perhaps the everlasting battle amongst the gender but with time whether its man or woman, all understand that the capability of a person is specific to individual irrespective of the gender. Women are beaming up with their talents amongst and amidst the men population. At several work places the cases of sexual, verbal or non verbal harassments have come across, and with the number of women heading towards the professional life, such cases have only increased, but indeed, the more they are educated, learned, they understand what can protect their vulnerability and how they can keep a pace with this world and shine with their glare.

PRESS RELEASE

Sub: SIFF presents Research Report on 498A and Alimony/Maintenance to Law Commission of Karnataka

Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) is a non-funded non-profit NGO fighting for men’s rights, Gender Equality and Family Harmony by creating awareness against the misuse of gender obsessed laws like Section 498A, the Domestic Violence Act, and the various Maintenance laws etc. which are systematically breaking down the family system of India.

Gender-budgeting has been happening in India since quite some years and with the institution of Constitutional and quasi-constitutional bodies like the National Commission for Women (NCW) and Women & Child Development Ministry (WCD), a significant portion of the union budget is kept aside for studying women’s issues and addressing them through recommendations provided by NCW to WCD.

Interestingly, in the last 62 years of Indian Independence neither a single rupee has ever been allocated for men’s welfare nor has a single Constitutional/Academic body ever been formed to study the problems faced by men let alone addressing them.

This emptiness has led SIFF to do research on men’s problems, talk to the victimized men, understand their pain, collect data and statistics related to men’s abuse and create awareness about them. SIFF has been doing this research since the last 5 years. Also SIFF and its allied NGOs all over India, have been engaging in various awareness campaigns to create awareness of men’s issues through media, internet blogs and road protests.

SIFF also engages in counseling victimized men and their families – who are victims of social bias and stereotypic presumptions and providing them with moral support. Interacting with them provided SIFF the data required to understand the lacunae in the existing law and legal provisions which formed a core part of study of SIFF’s research team.

Taking note of the constant awareness created by SIFF, the Law Commission of Karnataka headed by Dr. Justice V.S.Malimath invited SIFF to know their views on the existing nature of Section 498A and the necessary changes. After detailed discussions on the 25th of August 2009, the Law Commission of Karnataka requested SIFF to submit a report containing SIFF’s recommendations on the changes needed in Section 498A.

SIFF has submitted its report to the Law Commission of Karnataka on the 22nd October 2009. The report titled “The Perils of Section 498A of IPC – A Report on Changes Required” talks on the need and reasons of making Section 498A “Bailable and Non-Cognizable”.

The main highlighted points of the report are:-

1. A brief technical explanation of the Section 498A of IPC and the modus operandi of its misuse with some curious and famous cases highlighting one or the other lacunae of the criminal justice system.

2. Locus Standi of Experts on Section 498A which includes views of the higher judiciary, some eminent lawyers, noted women’s rights activist Madhu Kishwar, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women Dr. Girija Vyas to name a few.

3. The various impacts created by Section 498A on the Government, Police, Elders, Professional lives of individuals implicated in false 498A cases, and Psychological impact on individuals in particular and the society at large.

4. The fact that Section 498A and the processes around it at various stages like complaint stage, FIR and bail stage, trial stage have made “Suicide – The only way out of a broken marriage for husbands” along with illustrative examples spread over the bandwidth of social strata and case stages.

Additionally, taking cognizance of the media reports on the 12th of October 2009 that the National Commission of Women has suggested radical and vicious recommendations in the alimony and maintenance scenario especially in Section 125 CrPC, which included giving maintenance to “adulterous wives” and forcing man to pay maintenance outside his sufficient means, SIFF decided to prepare a report on the alimony/maintenance front as well.

Keeping in mind that husbands are a major stakeholders in the alimony/maintenance scenario and SIFF being a prominent organization focusing on husband’s issues; SIFF felt it extremely important to articulate the viewpoint of a neglected section of society in lawmaking, namely husbands, on the issue Alimony/Maintenance front and on the 22nd of October 2009, SIFF presented a report titled “Rationalization of Alimony Laws” along with “The Perils of Section 498A of IPC – A Report on Changes Required”.

The main highlighting points of the report on alimony are:-

1. Alimony – Its Origin.

2. Cases where Alimony/Maintenance is justified.

3. Cases where Alimony/Maintenance is thoroughly unjustified.

4. The Rural vs. Urban Women Divide.

5. A recent shift of attitude in the western countries with some case studies.

6. The needed rationalizations.

The second report on alimony has also been accepted by the Law Commission of Karnataka. The Law Commission of Karnataka has greatly appreciated SIFF’s report for its depth in content, research and reliance on hard-facts and accepted both the reports viz. The Perils of Section 498A of IPC – A Report on Changes Required” and “Rationalization of Alimony Laws“.

A copy of both the reports will also be sent to the Law Commission of India and the Ministry of Law and Justice for their perusal, consideration and implementation. We believe that a new beginning has been made with the articulation of the rights and needs of husbands. The same if consulted and considered in every law making procedure, then urgent rationalization of the laws will be complete in addressing the needs and rights of husbands leading to a sane and just society.

SIFF would like to end this press release with a feeling that “Change is constant and required”.

Date: 23-Oct-09 Thanks and Regards

Place: Bangalore Research Team

Save Indian Family Foundation