Mandeep Puri ,Chandigarh, October 23 : “See the home-maker and then the home” goes the old Ad age. But the tribe of home-makers is fast dwindling. Broken marriages are order of the day and are painful for both the wife and husband. But there is more pain involved which the current society must take note of – children and aged parents who are in the twilight of their lives.
In continuation of their unrelenting efforts to save families, the pro-family NGOs; Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), Children’s Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP) and All India Mothers-in-Law Protection Forum (AIMPF) organized a candle march at the Plaza, Sector 17, here this evening.
With malice towards none, the NGOs feel that the absurdly drafted DV Act is totally biased towards wives and provides highly competent, educated and independent women, with an unrestrained legalised weapon to harass the husband and his immediate family members. The NGOs want the “Lawmaker of the Land” to make requisite changes to help and protect the Indian family values. In this changed world where women equal men in every walk of life, it is only natural that the civil and criminal laws should be uniform and gender neutral.
“The nation, in the hands of incompetents has resulted in the ridiculous governance where not only a section of its citizens need protection from basic human rights violation but from absurdly drafted laws themselves! Just one such is the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act which is helping perpetrate more violence against the family than stemming it.
Family disputes and Domestic Violence is the number one killer for married men as 26% of suicides are directly attributed to such cases, Also young intelligent achievers includes software engineers are wasting their quality time fighting false multiple cases. The process itself is more barbaric than the punishment”, said Arun Gupta, coordinator Save Indian Family Foundation.
“Children must not suffer in matrimonial disputes. Granting sole and ex-parte custody to women merely on allegations under PWDVA and in other matrimonial disputes should be immediately stopped. Shared custody should be the mandatory norm in all child custody cases, and children must not be allowed to be used as a pawn in matrimonial disputes”, said Amritpal Singh, coordinator CRISP, Chandigarh.
“There is no Protection to men under Domestic Violence Act. Grant protection to men from domestic violence like emotional, physical, financial abuse available to “women” (read wife) must be extended to men also. It is the standard in most countries with domestic violence laws”, added Arun Gupta.
“Maintenance is meant for ensuring a dependent’s immediate livelihood. Its not a mechanism for profit. The domestic violence act has become a convenient extortion tool for unscrupulous women to get married only to demand extortionist compensation/ maintenance. In the west, such women are called “gold diggers”! This is nothing but legalised dacoity! The sanctity of marriage is reduced to a farce. Currently multiple maintenance applications can be made under several sections. Therefore the maintenance laws need to be separated from domestic violence & other matrimonial laws. To discourage marriage as a means of extortion, maintenance should be granted based on length of marriage, the status of the parties, their needs, and so on”, said Manjit Kaur Puri, coordinator All India Mother-In-Law Protection Forum.
“ Make maintenance laws Gender Neutral. Maintenance should not be driven by pseudo-feminist ideology which is presumptuous of men as perpetrators. There are countless cases where women have filed false affidavits (which in itself is a crime) stating zero income to claim maintenance. It is such recommendations that when passed into law result in blatant misuse, extortion and legal terrorism”, added Manjit Kaur.
“The Indian lawmakers show absurd double standards when on the one-hand they claim equality of women & a modern outlook and on the other go about trying recommending maintenance for even women in “live-in relationships”! Women in live-in relationships are modern, educated, highly competent independent women who are not fettered by olden day social taboos! For lawmakers to appease with maintenance in laws like PWDVA, reflects a primitive “cave-man” mindset about women in society”, felt Amritpal Singh.
“The suicide rate of married men is about double that of married women. Suicide is resorted to when a person sees no other way out. The current laws are specifically designed to harass innocent men to death by systematically stripping them of their income, their possessions, imprisoning them, their immediate family members, and psychologically breaking them down by separating them from their children”, said Arun Gupta.
The Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act is an act which is:
* Totally Unconstitutional and violates basic human rights
* It is a tool misused by Cosmopolitan and misguided wives to avenge against the husband and in-laws if their demands are not fulfilled
* ANTI-CHILD, ANTI-FAMILY, ANTI-WOMAN and ANTI-MAN
* A serious threat to society and Indian family values
* LEGALISED weapon BY UNSCRUPULOUS WIVES for extortion
* CHILDREN are increasingly living in single parenting, mostly mothers and missing out Fathers love and affection due to restraining orders.
* Harassed HUSBANDS are increasing and are not able to file any case against their spouse when they have been Physically and Mentally tortured
* Children rights is ignored due to this act and suffer silently due to insecurity.
* Elders/ Senior Citizens are harassed and constantly live in fear.
* 10.Women family members – Only ‘wives’ are considered women and their fabricated allegations are taken as gospel truth
OUR DEMANDS
Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF)
* Protection for men and children under the domestic violence act
* Suo-moto prosecution for false cases of domestic violence
* Separate the maintenance laws from domestic violence laws, maintenance should be granted based on length of marriage and must be gender neutral
* Trials under the act should be strictly subject to the CPC and the Indian evidence act and criminal suggesting terms like jail, bail etc… be removed from its text
* Create a men’s welfare ministry and child welfare ministry
* Reform the antiquated judiciary and rewrite DV act with limitation clause
* Judiciary must implement RTI Act in right earnest to provide important statistical data
* Responsible, accountable and a credible judiciary – make judiciary accountable for unjust adjudications (which are blatantly violating established law and internationally recognised human rights)!
* Responsible and accountable legislations and governance and police should be kept away form the family matters. Stop counselling in police stations
* Government to appoint and get research report on present family stresses and trivial disputes which are exaggerated
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS INITIATIVE FOR SHARED PARENTING (CRISP)
* Protect children in matrimonial disputes and domestic violence act and stop child interviews and punish brain washing parents.
* Domestic violence judges should be trained in child psychology and Couples and Parental disputes should be treated separately.
* Implement shared custody/parenting immediately! No outdated sole ex-parte custody!
* Create Separate Ministry of Child Welfare (separate from ministry of women)
* Legal and judicial reforms for child friendly laws & implementation of internationally accepted good practices and clear back logs through evening and weekend courts.
* Settle all child custody and visitation cases within six months from filing
* Stop child restraining orders against fathers until trial is completed
* Child maintenance and support provided by father should not be misused
* Action against any parent for not following court orders.
* Grand parents both paternal and maternal should be treated equally for grand children access.
All India Mothers-in-Law Protection Forum (AIMPF)
* Protection is required for ALL women! Women family members need protection from domestic violence, including those perpetrated by women against women.
* No immunity and suo-moto prosecution of women filing false cases.
* Today the wife enjoys a free legal licence & immunity from prosecution while she herself perpetrates atrocities – physical, emotional and verbal abuse on other women members of the family. Such absurdly drafted laws not only shows the incompetence of the lawmakers and also reduces the ‘wife’ to be a legal terrorist, which is derogatory to the Indian woman and unconstitutional.
* Reform the NCW which is a PARTISAN WIFE CENTRIC ORGANIZATION. Ensure that NCW takes complaints from elderly women, mothers-in-law and not just wives. Otherwise, CLOSE DOWN THE NCW! They are unfit to redress women’s issues.
* The Domestic Violence Act is a “get rich quick” tool for criminal minded women to USURP husband and in-laws property. In the west, such women are termed “gold diggers”! No in-laws & husband should be forced to leave their own home on domestic violence complaint of daughter-in-law.
* Don’t treat mother-in-law as vamps and restrain TV serials depicting mother-in-law as evil in the society.
We the members of SIFF, CRISP, AIMPF appeal to the media fraternity to support us by participating and educating the society at large through this candle march program the ill effects of DV act.
Dear anitaji,
when you will get booked under false 498a and dv act by your daughter in law then only you can understand the motive of SIFF & AIMPF.women now a days misuse these laws as their fathers property.
I think SIFF, AIMPF are just thinking about themselves and their mothers, iam a wife and my inlaws have really ill treated , humiliated , have broken my marriage and are planning for my husbands remarriage thats the reason they want divorce from me. This is certainly injustice, Mother in laws are verymuch vampires and causes lot of problems in family & misunderstanding.
SIFF & AIMPF, I think you cannot see wifes living a peaceful, respectful & happy life. For you wives are servants, inlaws treat that way & then ask for divorce, as if wife is a toy just play and then throw.
SIFF & AIMPF, these should be banned.