Our society embodies a stark distinction between its proclaimed life-affirmative beliefs and the underlying struggling that prevails. Relationships, particularly marriage, are sometimes transactional and materialistic preparations somewhat than expressions of affection and understanding.
Whereas marriages in developed nations witness excessive divorce charges however much less systemic exploitation, India boasts of low divorce charges however struggles to include exploitation leading to psychological well being issues, bodily violence and even demise. Each genders are entrapped in outdated norms and traditions. In India, whereas roughly 20 ladies lose their lives day by day to dowry-related violence, males face silent struggling, exemplified by tragic instances.
In any relationship constructed on want somewhat than love, the roles of exploiter and exploited inevitably blur and swap. Aggression and cruelty will not be gender-specific attributes; ladies could be as exploitative as males.. Traditionally, males have been the first perpetrators of violence and exploitation, however altering financial, social, and authorized situations have made ladies equally able to such acts.
If we glance again, we sought a authorized answer to the long-standing social concern of dowry. In 1961, with the enactment of the Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry was declared a malpractice and a criminal offense. Regardless of this, by the Eighties, there was a dramatic rise in dowry deaths, with 5,000 dowry deaths reported yearly. Even after the enactment of Sections 498A (1983) and 304B (1986) of the Indian Penal Code, which had been launched to fight dowry-related offenses, the variety of reported dowry deaths in India remained alarmingly excessive. As an example, in 2008, there have been 8,172 reported dowry deaths, marking a 14.4% improve over the 1998 determine of seven,146. Extra lately, in 2021, the Nationwide Crime Information Bureau (NCRB) reported 6,589 dowry deaths throughout the nation—roughly 20 deaths daily. Notably, the conviction charge underneath this regulation is the bottom amongst IPC offenses. By 2012, round 200,000 folks had been arrested, but solely 15% had been discovered responsible. In 2018, the conviction charge was roughly 13%, a decline from 21.9% in 2006. In 2020, out of 18,967 instances tried in courts, 3,425 led to convictions, indicating a conviction charge of about 18%.
When these legal guidelines had been formulated, ladies weren’t considerably empowered, and even right this moment, the disparity persists. Girls in India nonetheless face challenges: their literacy charge is 15% decrease than males’s, based mostly on a Nationwide Statistical Workplace (NSO) survey performed in 2017-2018. Fifty-seven % of ladies aged 15–49 are anemic (Nationwide Household Well being Survey, performed between 2019 and 2021), they usually obtain about two years much less education than males (UNDP, 2021–22). Based mostly on the Periodic Labour Drive Survey (PLFS 2022-23), ladies’s illustration within the workforce is round 37%, and their illustration in Parliament stays under 15%. Whereas some progress has been made, the general standing of ladies has seen restricted enchancment since 1984, when Parliament participation for ladies was 8%.
The misuse of Sections 498A and 304B has been a longstanding concern addressed by the Supreme Courtroom within the 2014 Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar case. The court docket criticized the inflexible, non-bailable nature of those legal guidelines and emphasised the necessity for balanced enforcement, instructing officers to confirm claims earlier than submitting FIRs. Failure to conform may end in contempt expenses.
Rising male suicides, typically linked to the misuse of such legal guidelines, underscore the necessity for reform. Whereas initially designed to fight dowry-related violence, societal adjustments have led to cases of reverse exploitation, with males dealing with stress, public humiliation, and monetary pressure. Based on NCRB knowledge for 2021, the male-to-female ratio of suicide victims was roughly 72.5% to 27.5%. The Supreme Courtroom’s pointers goal to curb misuse whereas defending weak teams.
Our societal values typically replicate hypocrisy. Whereas beliefs are celebrated outwardly, materialism and exploitation dominate beneath the floor. Marriage ceaselessly turns right into a transaction, with events specializing in private acquire. As an example, alimony legal guidelines generally result in males being financially drained and unable to remarry resulting from ongoing obligations. On the identical time, some ladies misuse these provisions to keep away from working, counting on sustained monetary help.
Whereas alimony is legally accessible to each genders, societal norms make it shameful for males to depend on ladies financially. If a person had been to demand alimony from a lady, it carries a social stigma. Conversely, when a lady calls for alimony, the regulation supplies strong help, assuming that her financial prospects had been sacrificed for the wedding. This assumption theoretically equates marriage with financial partnership, presuming equality, even when one companion, usually the lady, didn’t earn however managed the family as a substitute. Principally, this equation is justified. Nevertheless, when folks marry of their youth, they seldom hassle whether or not their companion is an financial equal and even an mental equal, not to mention a non secular equal. Knowledge takes a backseat. The emphasis, within the second, is extra on bodily attraction, romance and emotions. Nevertheless, the regulation hardly admits emotions. It’s presumed that each individuals have made a rational selection. When, after divorce, the burden of alimony falls on one of many companions – usually the person in India – it’s painfully found that no rational or smart selection had been made. The regulation is then ceaselessly blamed, however the fault truly lies within the lack of knowledge in selecting the companion.
We should ask why most marriages are based mostly on superficial components like look, caste, or household approval somewhat than deeper concerns. When issues collapse, the results should be confronted. Marriage works greatest when constructed on knowledge and consciousness somewhat than a pursuit of safety, which may result in dependency and exploitation. Ignorant selections can flip marriage into an irreversible lure that dictates one’s life.
India’s challenges in addressing exploitation inside marriages and relationships stem from deeply rooted societal norms and insufficient authorized implementation. Whereas authorized reforms are essential, the last word answer lies in societal transformation. And societal transformation means reforming the person.
People, whether or not males or ladies, who lack inside progress and self-awareness are more likely to misuse energy when it’s given to them. Empowering an individual with out fostering knowledge and readability can result in abuse of energy. Simply as males have traditionally misused their rights and privileges, ladies may do the identical if granted energy with out the notice to make use of it correctly. The answer is to not revoke ladies’s rights or return unchecked energy to males however to make sure that each women and men are nurtured with self-awareness and knowledge to wield energy responsibly.
The true and solely answer is that we have to instill psychological depth in society, and self-knowledge is the one path. We have to create a society the place each girls and boys are raised with good training and powerful inside character. They need to be taught dignity and integrity so deeply that the concept of exploiting or harming one other particular person turns into unthinkable.
In relationships, each companions ought to have sufficient understanding to acknowledge when the connection is now not sustainable with dignity. As a substitute of resorting to battle, blame, or authorized battles, they need to be capable of half methods amicably, ideally as mates, or not less than with out hostility.
This is able to forestall conditions the place relationships devolve into bodily or emotional fights or lengthy, draining authorized disputes.
Empowering society isn’t nearly granting rights or privileges. It’s about fostering a tradition the place each particular person, no matter gender, is provided to deal with these rights responsibly and with integrity. Solely by way of self-awareness and knowledge can we nurture that tradition which is able to pave the way in which for a harmonious and loving society.
(Acharya Prashant is a Vedanta exegete, thinker, social reformer, columnist and a nationwide bestselling creator. Moreover being a prolific creator of over 150 books, he’s the world’s most-followed non secular chief with 54 million subscribers on YouTube. He’s additionally an alumnus of IIT-D & IIM-A and an Ex-Civil Providers Officer. To learn extra thought-provoking articles by Acharya Prashant, go to askap.in)
