Wives abusing Domestic Violence Act, says group

ARE women misusing the Domestic Violence Act and making lives for husbands miserable?Yes, says Uma Challa, president of ‘All India Forgotten Women’ who says that she gets 10 complaints almost everyday from husbands who complain against their wives.The organisation has taken up a few case studies and found that the wives were lodging false complaints against husbands and in-laws who are ending up behind bars.“On an average, about 10 fake cases are registered in police stations across the State everyday. During our case studies, we saw that women blackmail their in-laws and husbands following a minor argument at home,” Uma Challa told Expresso. The All India Forgotten Women, a non-profit organisation is working to protect the rights of housewives, husbands and mothers-in-law in the State.While demanding that the Government consider amending the DV Act to protect everyone, Uma Challa says that she plans to extend the activities of the organisation to other places including Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati to bring about awareness among the people. “Our motive is to protect the rights of everyone without any gender bias,” she says.She says that the universal declaration of Human Rights states that “men and women” are entitled to equal rights to marriage and its dissolution and all are equal before the law without any gender variation.“The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. But the implementation of DV Act denies protection to men against any form of domestic abuse,” she feels.She further added that the DV Act violates the child’s right to love and affection of both parents. “After a number of case studies, we decided to conduct awareness camps to educate people on the Act. We have set up a counselling centre with senior counsellors to provide advise to women, husband and mother-in-laws. We also conduct weekly meetings with women and their mothers-in-law to discuss various family-related issues,” she says.Uma Challa has now started Andhra Pradesh Mothers-in-law Protection Association and All India Men Welfare Association to protect their rights. 

Mouli Mareedu

mouli@expressbuzz.com