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===Suicide=== ===Suicide===
] (SIFF) has claimed that suicide rate is almost twice in married men, compared to women, due to them being "unable to withstand verbal, emotional, economic and physical abuse" from their wives.<ref name="ramesh">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/13/india.randeepramesh1|title=Dowry law making us the victims, says India's men's movement|last= Ramesh |first=Randeep|date=13 December 2007 |newspaper=]|accessdate=4 April 2014|location=]}}</ref> SIFF has pointed to the ] (NCRB) data to show that suicide in married men is much higher than in married women. Mithun Kumar, a researcher at SIFF, has said that police don't take any action even if the suicide note of a man states that he was tortured by his wife and in-laws, but in case of a woman's suicide her husband's family is taken in custody without investigation.<ref name=helpline>{{cite news|title=Helpline to address problems of ‘distressed’ men|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/helpline-to-address-problems-of-distressed-men/article93190.ece|accessdate=8 April 2014|newspaper=]|date=17 December 2009}}</ref> ] (SIFF) has claimed that suicide rate is almost twice in married men, compared to women, due to them being "unable to withstand verbal, emotional, economic and physical abuse" from their wives.<ref name="ramesh">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/13/india.randeepramesh1|title=Dowry law making us the victims, says India's men's movement|last= Ramesh |first=Randeep|date=13 December 2007 |newspaper=]|accessdate=4 April 2014|location=]}}</ref> SIFF has pointed to the ] (NCRB) data to show that suicide in married men is much higher than in married women. Mithun Kumar, a researcher at SIFF, has said that police don't take any action even if the suicide note of a man states that he was tortured by his wife and in-laws, but in case of a woman's suicide her husband's family is taken in custody without investigation.<ref name=helpline>{{cite news|title=Helpline to address problems of ‘distressed’ men|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/helpline-to-address-problems-of-distressed-men/article93190.ece|accessdate=8 April 2014|newspaper=]|date=17 December 2009}}</ref>


===Sexual harassment=== ===Sexual harassment===

Revision as of 05:15, 8 April 2014

The men's rights movement in India is associated with various men's rights organizations.

History

The Indian men's rights movement was started by Ram Prakash Chugh, a Supreme Court advocate, in Delhi in 1988 to handle false cases of dowry and torture. It was called Crime against Man Cell also known as Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Husbands. Chugh himself faced problems in his married life.

In 1996, Purush Hakka Sanrakshan Samiti was formed by Balasaheb Patil to help husbands falsely imprisoned in dowry cases and to help avoid divorces by counseling couples.

Sangyabalya, a helpline for husbands and families harassed by anti-dowry laws, was started in June 2003 by Arun Murthy in Bangalore. He started the helpline after his sister-in-law filed a dowry harassment case against his younger brother and his entire family was implicated.

Save Indian Family Foundation was founded on 9 March 2005 by the unification of a number of family's rights organizations across India.

On 19 November 2007, Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) observed International Men's Day for the first time in India.

In 2009, Child's Right and Family Welfare was formed to demand fairer laws for men, including better child custody and access laws.

On 19 November 2010, the Bangalore chapter of National Coalition for Men, a US based men's rights organization, organised an event called "Save The Male". Issues like father's rights, false dowry cases, high suicide rate among men and domestic violence were discussed.

In December 2012, about 15,000 men boycotted Aamir Khan's then recent film Talaash. According to Anil Kumar, one the founders of SIFF, Aamir Khan potrayed men negatively on his telegraph show, Satyamev Jayate. He claimed that the show provided only one side of the domestic violence issue.

On 21 December 2013, members of National Coalition for Men held a demonstration outside the offices of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) in Kolkata, stating that former Supreme Court judge Asok Kumar Ganguly, and then chairman of WBHRC, was innocent until proven guilty. Ganguly had been accused of sexual harassment by a law intern. Amit Gupta, General Secretary of National Coalition for Men, said that even if the legal system of India and the UN Charter on Human Rights states that an accused is to be treat as innocent until proven guilty, Ganguly was being held as guilty and subjected to a media trial.

On 28 March 2014, Amit Gupta urged voters across the country to exercise the "None of the above" (NOTA) in the 2014 general elections. According to him, no political party was paying heed to their demands of gender neutral laws and a Ministry of Men’s Welfare.

Issues

Suicide

Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) has claimed that suicide rate is almost twice in married men, compared to women, due to them being "unable to withstand verbal, emotional, economic and physical abuse" from their wives. SIFF has pointed to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data to show that suicide in married men is much higher than in married women. Mithun Kumar, a researcher at SIFF, has said that police don't take any action even if the suicide note of a man states that he was tortured by his wife and in-laws, but in case of a woman's suicide her husband's family is taken in custody without investigation.

Sexual harassment

After a 25 year-old committed suicide on 24 May 2013, a married woman of 40, who was a coworker, was charged with sexual harassment in Nagpur. Later, an unnamed police official admitted that even if women's sexual harassment cases are reported in larger number, men's sexual harassment are not uncommon. He added that most men refrain from filing a complaint, so such cases are underreported. Another anonymous police official said that men who file such cases face public ridicule, as a result most suffer in silent or commit suicide.

In December 2012, Ipsos conducted a survey of 500 corporate professionals. It found that 38% of the respondents believed that men are as vulnerable as women to sexual harassment in today's workplaces. In Bangalore, 50% admitted to sexual harassment where the perpetrator was a woman. In Hyderabad, the percent was 29% and 43% was reported in Delhi. In another survey also carried out by Ipsos in January 2013, 43% of men and 21% of women admitted to have been sexually harassed.

Domestic violence

In January 2014, of 224 domestic violence complaints filed in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, 160 were filed by husbands. Also, Jabalpur, Amarkantak and Hoshangabad region has a signficant number of sadhus who have left their marriage. About 4,500 husbands are missing from family court records in the region.

Ram Prakash Chugh has stated that many times husbands don't reported being attacked by their wifes with household utensils because of their ego.

Discriminatory laws

The movement holds that laws like the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, Dowry law, the maintenance/alimony laws and the rape laws are anti-male and unconstitutional as men are being treated as guilty before guilt has been proven. Healthy and educated women can legally get alimony from their jobless former husband.

Swarup Sarkar of SIFF has stated that these laws assume that women are always truthfully, hence don't place much important on evidence.

Anti-dowry law

Main article: Dowry law in India

The Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code allows the police to arrest the persons mentioned in the complaint without a warrant or without any investigation. The crime is non-bailable chances of getting a bail are low and husbands usually lose their jobs. There is no provision of withdrawing a complaint in case of a reconciliation.

In November 2003, the Committee on Reforms in the Criminal Justice System (CRCJS) recommended that Section 498a be made bailable and compoundable.

In July 2005, the Supreme Court admitted that in many instances complaints under the Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code are not bona fide and have oblique motives. The court added that acquittal in such cases doesn't erase the suffering the defendant has to go through, which is compounded by adverse media coverage. The court also directed the legislature to find ways to check such false cases.

In August 2010, the Supreme Court directed the government to amend Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code in view of the rising numbers of false or exaggerated complaints against husbands and their relative by women. It further added that such complaints result in the husband and his relatives remaining in custody until trial or bail, which kills all chances of an amicable settlement.

In January 2012, the Law Commission of India recommended that Section 498a should be made a compoundable offense. But, the court will decide if the particular case in compoundable or not.

According to Ram Prakash Chugh, about 87% of the women in Tihar jail are there due to dowry charges. He has claimed that sometimes mothers of the bride bring dowry charges on their in-laws when the bride fails to adjust to her in-laws.

According to SIFF, these laws don't follow conventional legal premises where a person is innocent until proven guilty. It has also pointed out that several of those who are arrested under this law are women themselves, that is female relatives of husbands.

Divorce law and alimony

In October 2010, Supreme Court of India passed a judgment according to which long-term live-in relationships will be considered as marriage. The female spouse then can claim palimony under the Domestic Violence Act 2005 which uses the phrase "relationship in the nature of marriage".

The new Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010 will allow courts to decide compensation to wife and children from the husband's inherited and inheritable property. The bill has provision for "irretrievable breakdown" of marriage where both parties must have lived apart for 3 years before filing for divorce. The bill also allows the wife to oppose the dissolution of a marriage if it will leave her in financial hardship.

The SIFF has protested against the Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2010. According to Rajesh Vakharia, President of SIFF, this bill will encourage divorce and will be expensive to husbands, as they would have to part with their hard earned assets. He has called this bill a regressive move, and has stated that jeopardizes the financial and social security of a man. He has pointed out that as most men marry after becoming financially secure, so losing hard earned property will discourage marriage among men and feed the gynophobia in the society.

Derek O'Brien, member of All India Trinamool Congress political party, has argued that this law empowers women at the expense of men. He proposed that this law should be made gender neutral by using the word "spouse" instead of "wife" or "husband". Arvind Kumar Singh of Samajwadi Party said that the law had potential for misuse like the anti-dowry laws and added that is treats men as responsible for divorces. Vandana Chavan of Nationalist Congress Party has pointed out that the bill was unfair as nowadays many women earn equal or more than their husbands.

Although four or five out of ten divorce cases in India allege mental agony, Ram Prakash Chugh has said that if a man brought similar charges to a court, he will be unlikely to get a favourable ruling.

Child custody law

An organisation named Children’s Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP) has demanded better child access laws and has called the current custodial laws gender-biased.

Domestic violence law

Main article: Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 primarily provides protection to wives and female live-in partners from domestic violence carried out by husbands, male live-in partner or their relatives. Domestic violence includes abuse or treat of abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic.

Swarup Sarkar of SIFF has argued that Domestic Violence Act should be made gender neutral. Renuka Chowdhury, former Minister Women and Child Development, has agreed that it should be gender neutral.

Khasi tribe

The Khasi tribe in Meghalaya state is matrilinear. The children take the mother's surname. The sons have a no rights to property. A family without a heir usually adopts a girl. After marriage, men move into their wives' houses. Their way of life is protected under the Khasi Social Custom of Lineage Act of 1997. The men in this tribe have started a men's liberation movement called Syngkhong Rympei Thymmai (Home Hearth Restructured). It was founded on 14 April 1990. A previous movement started in early 1960s died out due to lack of support and one of their meetings was also attacked by hundreds of women bearing knives. The current movement claims to have 2000 members. According to them, due to lack of responsiblity, boys are dropping out of schools, men are resorting to drugs or alcohol and dying before reaching middle age.

Men-ifesto

As part of Indian general election, 2014, Men's rights organizations and NGOs are asking all Indian political parties to include their demands of Gender equal Laws and ministries. They have asked for the formation of a "men's ministry" and a "men's rights" panel to address issues concerning Indian males similar to Women Ministry and National Council of Women in India. The National Coalition for Men (NCM) - a forum of 50 organizations has launched its own manifesto expressing concern over the steady rate of "innocent men" falling victims to "gender biased" laws. Titled "Men-ifesto", it addresses Wife centric laws including the provisions of Laws like Domestic Violence, IPC Section 498A and The Guardians and Wards Act and Gender Neutral Laws.

Criticism

The men's rights movement has been criticised for being antifeminist, ignoring the need for legislation to protect women.

Organisations

  • Save Indian Family Foundation
  • All India Front Against Persecution by Wives (Akhil Bharatiya Patni Atyachar Virodhi Morcha)
  • My Nation
  • Child's Right and Family Welfare
  • Purush Hakka Sanrakshan Samiti
  • Gender Human Rights Society
  • Confidare Research
  • Men's Rights Association
  • Karnataka Rajya Purushara Rakshana Samiti

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Nagging wife? Help is at hand!". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
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  47. "25 July 2010". The Hindu. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2014.

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