Domestic Violence against Women in India

There is not even a single day when we do not hear or read about Domestic violence against women. Be it the cruelty of husbands and in laws for dowry or burning the brides irrespective of culture or background women in India are becoming victims of this crime. If we thought that the economic backward or uneducated are those who fall victims to this crime it is not so. The submissive quality in women in India and the general mindset of the society that women are physically and emotionally weaker than the males makes them vulnerable to domestic violence. It is said that in India there is a crime against women in every three minutes.

Who is responsible for domestic violence? The answer is all of us. For us unless it happens to us or someone who is close to us incidents of domestic violence are just news or entertainment. Many of us even when we see or hear such instances even in our neighborhood do not interfere or do anything to stop them. I have already written in this blog about a friend who committed suicide because of the cruelty of her husband and in-laws. Though majority of the people in the nearby flats were aware of this none opened their mouths to ensure that the culprit got punished. Their getting involved would have meant enmity with the neighbor and frequent visits to police or courtrooms which they did not want to happen. If everybody behaves like this and shields the criminals how is this crime going to stop? What is even more annoying is the fact that most victims also prefer to keep silence and do not report such instances. I have personally seen women taking beatings from their husbands without even a word of resistance. For an Indian woman husband has the place of God. How can we expect domestic violence to stop continuing in India when women are still reluctant to report domestic violence to the police and suffer as if it is their duty to their husbands?

What exactly is domestic violence? It is the violence happening within the home towards a family member and can be physical, sexual or emotional in nature. However, domestic violence against women is the most common of all. What we need to understand is if this has happened to a neighbor’s daughter today it can happen with someone close to us tomorrow. As Women need to empower themselves through education and achieve economic independence and freedom. We also need to stop suffering in silence and fight for our rights when someone does wrong to us. If we women do not stand up for ourselves who will? We need to change to see the world change.

Related Link

Laws against Domestic Violence and Abuse in India