PATNA: Soni (name changed), like her friends, had dreamt of a prince as her man and a happy married life with him. She was on cloud nine when she in May 2004 tied the knot with Pradeep Biswas, chosen by her father as Mr Right for her.
Pradeep worked as a sales manager in a Kolkata firm, and everything was fine for a few months. The other day, however, Soni got the shock of her life when her father-in-law sought to get physically intimate with her. She complained to her husband, but he cared a damn. "I failed to improve things on my own and returned to my father's home along with my little daughter," she said. To Soni's horror, her father simply expressed his inability to support her and the child. "My parents virtually forced me to go back to my in-laws' place," she said as tears welled up in her eyes.
Her in-laws refused to take her in. The two females were literally on road for days till Soni approached Helpline Patna, an initiative of the state's Women Development Corporation to help women in distress. Soni has since filed a divorce petition. The Helpline, meanwhile, has made her pensioner father pay her Rs 1,000 every month.
There are many Sonis in Bihar. According to a survey conducted recently by the Union health and family affairs ministry, Bihar reported the highest number of cases of violence against married women. Nearly 50% married women suffer physical violence, 19% sexual violence, 2% emotional violence and 59% experience both physical and sexual violence.
Ironically, women from urban areas face more violence than those from rural areas. According to the survey, 62.2% of the surveyed women were subjected to the trauma of domestic violence in urban areas compared to 58.5% women in rural areas.
The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 has not proved a deterrent. This becomes evident from the Helpline figures that indicate a rising trend: A total of 159 cases of domestic violence were reported to the Helpline till November 2010.
This figure was 174 in 2009, 143 in 2008, 138 in 2007, 124 in 2006 and only 84 in 2005.
The same is the case with dowry harassment incidents. As against 63 cases of dowry-related harassment till November 2010, the Helpline received 67 complaints in 2009, 39 in 2008, 47 in 2007 and only 13 complaints in 2006.
Bihar State Human Rights Commission chairman Justice S N Jha attributes the pathetic state of affairs to lack of awareness among women about their rights. The rights panel boss, at the same time, is also worried about misuse of pro-women laws. "We should organize seminars, street corner plays and other such events to spread awareness," he said at a state-level consultation workshop on `UNiTE To End Violence Against Women', organized by Equity Foundation, and supported by Action Aid, here on Friday.
A police officer Chandra Shekhar Vidyarthi also expressed concern over growing domestic violence. "Altogether 74 cases have been filed in the court of Patna chief judicial magistrate in 2010. This figure was 51 in 2009, 54 in 2008 and only 23 in 2007," Vidyarthi, currently a DSP with BMP, said.
The cop felt that laws could be of limited help. "For things to improve, people's mindset has to be changed," he said as he blamed the patriarchal nature of our society for such ills.
Earlier, Equity Foundation director Nina Srivastava welcomed the delegates. Foundation chairperson Renu Ranjan proposed a vote of thanks.
Alok K N Mishra can be contacted at 9234629956.
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