OMG! 60 domestic violence cases in Hyderabad

Even as the Telangana capital earned kudos for its ethnic composition, the spiraling complaints of domestic violence have reached alarming proportions. Of the nearly 190 complaints of domestic violence received by the State Women’s Commission in 2014, 60 are from Hyderabad city itself.

"Nearly 70 per cent of domestic violence cases have a history of second marriage or extra-marital affairs,” says women’s commission chairperson, Tripurana Venkataratnam. Physical and mental abuse has been regular feature of my marriage for one year, says 29-year-old victim Swati (not real name) adding that she was forced to sign separation agreement to give sanctity for his second marriage which was done secretly six months earlier for more dowries with connivance of his parents.

“In cases which are related to Muslim women, the Muslim Personal Law allows a man to have four wives at any point of time. So, if a woman musters up the courage to file a complaint of harassment, it becomes futile,” said an activist.

“We cannot compare one case with another, but in a majority of the cases a man uses violence to browbeat a woman. The commission cannot take action on petitions due to lack of legal provisions," says Ms Venkataratnam.

The chairman of the state women commission says that the government was mulling over formulations of new provisions to protect the women from multiple weddings of her husband.

Source: DC, modified by Web team