GUJARAT, INDIA - The challenges : Unnatural Deaths caused by Domestic Violence against Women

 

AWAG – Ila  Pathak

Ahmedabad Women’s Action Group 

A young married woman going to live at her marital home is expected to submit fully to her husband and his elderly relatives.

When she is subjected to domestic violence, she tries to escape by returning to her natal home.  Parents, following the cultural code of SOCIETY send her back. When this happens  more than once, her suffering at marital home intensifies.  Unable to continue with life such a woman succumbs to her death.

(i)                 Our study 'Aftermath of Domestic Violence Against Women : A Systematic Exploration of  AWAG’s Experience with reference to the operation of Criminal Justice System in Gujarat (India)’, looked into this.

(ii)               Our ngo, AWAG, took up the challenge to arrest the ever increasing number of deaths of young women, almost more than 14 per day on an average in the year 1995, increased upto more than 17 per day is 1998  in the population of  4,83,87,270 as per census of 2001.

(iii)             Networking among ngos of the State and restrategising on the issue  with specific steps led to decrease in the number of such deaths over years.  The death toll in 2004 is more than 12 per day.

(i) Study

Persistence of a specific form of violence studied

AWAG studied the persistence of unnatural deaths of young women once in 1985 and then in 1995-1999.  The study in 1985 had concentrated on the causes of such deaths and it was found that women met ends of their lives when they could no longer bear domestic violence meted out to them.

From 1985 onwards AWAG was monitoring the data recorded by police of unnatural deaths of women as registered under heads like, (i) murder (ii) dowry-death (iii) abetment of suicide (iv) accidental death and (v) suicide.  It was clear to us by 1995 that the number of unnatural deaths increased every year.  In the study initiated in the year 1995 AWAG started finding out if police registered the complaints of domestic violence made by women complainants to them at various police stations.

In Gujarat violence against women has been addressed from early 30s. In fact the first rescue centre was established in Ahmedabad  City (Gujarat) in 1934 and first shelter was established in the same  city in 1937.

By the  end of the eighties 52 Counseling Centres, 96 Legal Aid Centres and nine Shelters for women were established in Gujarat. Despite all that the number of unnatural deaths increased every year. the following table points to that :

Table No. 1

No. of unnatural deaths of women from 1984 to 19951

Year	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
No. of deaths per year	1418	1024	2132	2220	4116	4254	3986	3862	4016	4521	4838	5112
No. of deaths per day	3.88	2.8	5.84	6.0	11.27	11.65	10.92	10.58	11.0	12.38	13.25	14.0

 

In 1995 AWAG convened a meeting of the ngos active on the issue and asked for restrategising.  No consensus could be arrived at yet AWAG decided to provide trainings to the Counselors working in Family Counseling Centres (FCCs)  and Social  Workers in Legal Aid  Centres (LACs) run by ngos and funded by the State.

The system followed thus far in FCCs and LACs was to send the complainant woman back into her family after negotiating with both parties and making a written document that she will not be henceforth battered.  Despite such compromises women continued to lose lives in increasing numbers.

AWAG proposed that the system needed change. Some specific lessons were put across (i) Listen to the complainant woman first and ask her what she wants (ii) In case she wants to return (which most women do) then counsel her not to rush back but hold out till she finds enough courage within her to say 'no' to violence (iii) In case she does not want to go back because of violence, inform her that she had   a legal option, she could file a complaint against her husband and / or his relatives. (iv) In case she wants to file a complaint, take her to the police station to help her get the complaint registered.  We named this type of intervention 'pro-woman counseling' as against the custom of 'family counseling'.

The trainees were invited every six months. They brought disturbing news that the police did not register complaints of these women.  A new section was added from December 1983 in the Indian Penal Code as Section 498-A (IPC)2 and the police was supposed to register complaints of physical / mental torture by husband.

Cultural underpinnings in India are that the parents do not allow a married daughter to stay back with them. When a daughter turns to them for help,  she is asked to return and live with her in-laws through her life.  Such women have no option but to live at their marital home. when they can no longer take the beatings or other forms of torture they lose the will to live and succumb to unnatural death. Another undertone is that a husband is entitled to beat his wife. This is so widely accepted that some women argue that the husband's beating is expression of his love towards them !  But those myths turn into hideous reality soon.

However, this has another seamier side.  Policeman is recruited from this very society which accepts husband's right to brutally treat his wife. So when a woman goes to complaint against her husband the police asks her to go back to him otherwise he threatens that she would not be sheltered by him. This  intimidates the woman complainant and she hesitates.  Worst example could be quoted of a Police Station Officer (PSO) saying "I also beat my wife this morning, will you also complain against me and put me in  jail ?

Add to this the tendency of Police Sub-Inspectors (PSI) and Police Inspectors (IS) to 'counsel' the couple to reconcile.  The practice largely followed is that the husband is sent for, loudly reprimanded for beating his wife and made to swear that he would not do so henceforth.  As the husband falls at the feet of the police officer and accepts his recommendation, the woman is asked to go home with him.  The officers honestly believe that the couple is reconciled to live happily ever after.

AT home, the woman is again subjected to worse treatment, the additional torture is punishment for going to seek help outside.

AWAG took up the issue by proposing sensitization of the police on the issue.  Formal permission was sought and from 1998 January to end of 2000 AWAG sensitized 80% of  the police force of Gujarat.  Insistence was on registering complaints of battered wives so that they could survive.

The sensitization workshops yielded results.  By the end of year I of the effort the number of complaints registered under section 498-A increased and the number of unnatural deaths did not increase but actually decreased.  The downward trend continued.  By 2001 this was obvious.  But Gujarat has a population of more than 4 billion so one cannot jump to conclusions.  Later records of year 2004 showed that the number of deaths definitely decreased.

The following tables indicate that :

Table no. 2

No.of unnatural deaths of women from 1995 to 20043.

Year	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
No.of  Deaths per year	5112	5164	5525	6349	6135	5583	4924	4672	4749	4631
No.of average deaths   per Day	14.0	14.15	15.14	17.39	16.08	15.03	13.49	12.80	13.01	12.68

Table no. 3

No.of complaints registered under section 498-A (IPC) from 1995 to 20044

Year	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
No.of  women’s complaints	1950	2545	2415	2989	3276	3563	3191	2866	3185	3781
%  women’s complaints per day	5.34	6.97	6.62	8.19	8.97	9.76	8.74	7.85	8.72	10.35

 

These tables show that the number of unnatural deaths could decrease as a result of restrategising. Counselors approached by women in distress were trained in 'pro-woman' counseling and the police force  was sensitized to register complaints of battered / tortured wives under section 498-A (IPC).  As it is, lives of at least 1718 women are saved in last seven years.

Strategies for better and more sustained and effective implementation

(I)                  Gender sensitization to be included in the trainings of police recruits.

(II)               Members of judiciary, advocates taking up government jobs to defend women complainants known as public prosecutors in India to be sensitized on gender issues.

(III)            Executive Magistrates entrusted with the task of taking the 'dying declaration' of dying women and Medical Officers  providing treatment to battered women and preparing postmortem reports need to be sensitized on gender issues.

(IV)             It is necessary to institute a separate investigating agency to investigate women's complaints and deaths. The cadre need not be separated from the police. Women's cases should not be marginalized but need to be well investigated, hence the suggestion. Transfers to and from the women’s department should be routine.

(V)                It is necessary to institute a separate prosecuting agency to look after only women's cases but the cadre need not be signaled out only for women's cases.  This is suggested again not to marginalize women's cases and the persons connected with them.

It is also necessary that the agency should vigilantly bring up the cases under section 498-A (IPC) quickly enough for hearing and not wait indefinitely for compromise and consequent disposal.

(VI)             A counseling centre ought to be set up at each City and District Head Quarters.

(1)     To counsel a woman in distress about legal assistance she could get if she registered her complaint, what police action could follow and what penalty could be imposed on the accused.

(2)     To compel the 'accused' as a part of the penalty, to undergo certain number of sessions to learn the lesson of behaving as a human being and not brutalize his wife who also is a human being.

The reports are not even legibly written and lack the details that could be useful in arguing a case.

 

Applicability in the Country

 

Whatever is necessary and true of Gujarat is bound to be so far all States in India because

(i)          All States have adverse sex ratio.

(ii)        Deaths  of young women on account of family disputes are common to all States.

(iii)      Penal Code and Criminal Justice Systems are similar throughout India.

(iv)      In fact, this could be applied to the subcontinent  by including Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc. which were colonized by the British, along with India.

Examples of Good Practices :

Unnatural Deaths caused by Domestic Violence

(1)        Concept of 'pro-woman' counseling spread around, used in trainings of trainees who help women in distress.

(2)        Sensitized police force on a single issue, focussed training yields results.

(3)        The number of women dying unnatural deaths as they received battering beyond their abilities to accept the same, decreased.

(4)        The study shows that the women who lodged their complaints with the police, did not become destitute, nor were they denied 'conciliation' at a later stage when they were strong enough to say 'no' to violence.