Face to face with Ramathal

K.M.Ramathal, Chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women speaks about the benefits of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act …

In spite of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, injustice to women continues at all levels. Ramathal, chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women opines that all problems stem from the fact that both husband and wife do not want to adjust.

Q: What kind of protection does The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act provide to women?

A: The act gives protection to women when they are tortured either physically or mentally. Demanding dowry, physical assault to the extent of causing injuries, sexually degrading verbal abuse, insult and humiliation, intercourse against the will of the woman etc. affect women both mentally and physically. After marriage, women are subjected to ill treatment and torture by the husband, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. If a woman is evicted from her house, she can seek the help of the court under the provisions of this act and can continue to live in the same house with the help of a court order to that effect. A woman can lodge a complaint against a man for violence if that man is above 18 years of age. There are features that are favorable to women in this act.

Q: Usually, with what kinds of complaints women come to you?

A: We receive lots of complaints. Every complaint is different. Women, who are married just for three days want to separate! Only when you get an insight into their lives, the magnitude of their problems is understood. We counsel both the husband and the wife at a joint session. Once, a 25-year old woman came to me. She had been married only for three months. She wanted divorce from her husband. When I asked for the reason, she said that her husband was not sociable, didn’t like masala and expected her to cook for him separately! She added that he was not behaving like a husband; he didn’t want a child immediately. She wanted me to talk to her husband. When I spoke to him, he said that he wanted to go abroad and that it would take two years for him to return. I told him that his foreign trip need not stand in the way of his family life. He pointedly asked whether sex alone was life. I doubted his ability for sex. Eventually it was confirmed that he was not fit for sex life. We got the woman divorce from him without much effort.