My speech at the launch of DV Awareness Month- Press Conference

I am assuming that apart from your careers, when you go back home, you will find yourself in the role of parents, brothers, sisters and children. This is to say that family life is the center of our lives. Any danger or harm to any member of our family hurts the rest of the family, and we, as common citizens, rest our faith in the law enforcement and justice system, laws and procedures, to protect us and our families from harm. What happens when you find out that you and your family members are not eligible for protection just because you happen to be a man or a blood relative of a man?

The Constitution of India guarantees us the Right to Equality under Article 14. But Indian laws against domestic violence do not treat men and women as equals, reminding us of George Orwell’s Animal Farm where “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

In fact, these laws do not even treat ALL women equally. This is due to the fact that these laws see women in only one role. And it is the role of a wife. They see women only as wives. So, daughters, sisters, mothers & grandmothers are being sent to jails along with their sons, brothers and grandsons. They are being thrown out of their homes on the strength of a single unproven accusation.

We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in Human Rights abuse through the enactment and execution of a few laws instituted in the name of empowerment of women.

In an effort to end this discrimination under law and to ensure equal protection for men and women against all forms of abuse, we, the members of Save Indian Family Foundation, All India Forgotten Women, Rishtey and Children’s Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting are launching a month-long awareness programme….http://dvawareness-india.blogspot.com/

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