Tortured by Wives, these men knocking the doors of Women’s Commission

Is not peculiar a commission that exclusively works for women, receives a number of complaints from men too.

Spousal abuse is not just faced by women, but there are a growing number of men who are at the receiving end of harassment, and face physical and psychological abuse at the hands of their wives. What’s worse, the humiliation and shame of this act going public forces them to keep their mouth shut.

It shows there is need for a commission which addresses the problems of men too. Domestic violence against men in India is not recognized by the law.The general perception is that men cannot be the victims of violence.

However Most men approaching Delhi Commission for Women with complains stating wives and families harass them for money, property or simply divorce. There are cases of sexual harassment too. Some complaints are lodged by men against men.

DCW Chairperson, Swati Maliwal, told Mail Today, “Initially, we were surprised that men were walking into our office, in spite of the name itself saying Delhi Commission for Women. Most of the complaints pertain to wives inflicting mental, emotional and even physical torture on their husbands. Most seem genuine so we are not turning them away.”

DCW cites the case of 30-yearold Parwinder (name changed) whose wife declared that she had a lover and wanted to annul the marriage on the wedding night. When he informed her brothers, they threatened to kill his family unless he kept the woman. She consumed sleeping pills once and set herself on fire and called police stating that she was being burnt for dowry.

A senior official said the procedure adopted during such cases ranges from counseling the accused wife to lodging an FIR against her. “If it is a case of counseling, we either made the couple sit with their respective families and discuss their problem or send them to the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for mediation.