By Lalji Jayswal
Today, the entire world is troubled by the Corona epidemic. which women are facing double effects,one is unemployment due to Corona epidemic and secondly domestic violence. But it is important that where the problems of women are kept, it is considered more appropriate to shore up men. It is very important to talk about strengthening women financially and empowering them, because empowering women in any country is the precondition for building a good nation. When women are empowered, then the stability of the society is also ensured because their thoughts and value system also leads to the creation of a good family, a good society and ultimately a good nation. But the important thing is that as long as women are limited to only home work, then they have been subjected to extreme harassment. For this reason many laws were also made for the protection of women and women are also getting protection under those laws. But on the other hand, in the period of rapid social change, men are also feeling insecure. Especially, during the lockdown in the Corona disaster, men have also become victims of domestic violence. This is the reason why today it has become necessary to demand a male commission on the lines of the women’s commission.
The question arises as to whether it is appropriate to ignore the rights of men in the era of women empowerment? Due to which men are committing suicides today, which has had a negative impact on joint families. According to the report, the number of single families in rural areas increased from 50.7 percent to 52.1 percent. The ten-year NCRB data itself states that men are committing suicide in double the number of women. According to the report, every year around 95 thousand men commit suicide due to misuse of women’s laws. While 76 percent of the suicides in the world are men, about 86 percent of the men become homeless. Men have to spend 64 per cent more in jail than women, which means they get more punishment than women. One out of every three men suffers from domestic violence.
According to the NCRB, the state of male suicides only in Madhya Pradesh has been 27 per cent higher during the lockdown this year compared to 25 March to 31 May last year. According to the World Health Organization, an average of eight lakh people commit suicide every year worldwide. Surprisingly, 21 percent of these people are Indians. West Bengal ranks first in the country in terms of men’s suicides, while Madhya Pradesh comes in fifth place and India is second in the world after America. Thus it becomes clear that not only women, but also men are victims of domestic violence and in the current lockdown, joint families are rapidly breaking up due to the fighting.
However, in the eyes of law, men and women are equal and the constitution also provides that everyone should have the right to equality. Certainly if the legal provision of women and men is taken into consideration then it becomes clear that the law for daughter-in-law Many provisions are established in her, while there is no law for her husband. The question arises that if the same law is misused and innocent person is tortured, then what relief is he getting from the law? It has always been seen that more than forty percent of dowry cases are false. A lawsuit is filed under the Dowry Act for the purpose of getting divorced due to mutual malice or family strife, even if the marriage has been more than fifteen years. It would not be right at all to say here that the male classes are completely true, but the family can also handle such a case with mutual consent.
Violence against women had become a major issue in our country in the eighties. It was seen that there were many types of domestic violence with women in the family and society, which often have not been completely stopped even today. But the main reason for this is believed to be lack of education. But at present, when there is talk of internet being considered as a fundamental right, violation of women’s rights and domestic violence with them cannot be tolerable at all. But in view of this domestic violence, 498A in the Indian Penal Code came under the pressure of women’s movement.
At first sight, this law is a law to save a woman from cruelty by husband or relatives of husband. However, no law has been done to the extent of misuse of Dowry Harassment Law 498A in India. According to the data, in 2015, 7,124 FIRs of female harassment were registered, in which only one male was found guilty. The misuse of the law that the government has given to women is a matter of concern. A recent NCRB figure is worth noting. According to the 2015 report, the police investigated one lakh 12 thousand 107 cases under 498-A and the cases were found to be false in 7458 cases. In view of the seriousness of the situation, the Supreme Court had also given important instructions on 498A. The most important of these instructions was that the police would not immediately arrest any such complaint. Whether the woman’s complaint is true or not will be investigated first. The inquiry will be done by a committee made up of three people. In many cases, it was found that the reason for the conflict is something else, but a direct case is filed against the husband and the whole family ie mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, come under the cover of dowry harassment. Once this happens, there is a social boycott of such a family. People start to see them in terms of hatred. Men often die of mental depression and even die. Certainly, if a survey is conducted, men along with women will also be found to be suffering from domestic violence.
In such a situation, the demand for creating a male commission is not wrong at all. Generally, a separate system is needed for the hearing of men today, so that they can keep their talk. When the basic sense of justice is fair justice, then why is the male class so neglected?
However, women suffer more harassment than men, but many laws have been made for their relief and there is also a women’s commission. However, this truth cannot be completely denied that men are also harassed by women and some women also misuse the law made for their protection. As a result, it is necessary today that if gender discrimination is decreasing in every area, then attention should also be paid to reforms in gender-piercing laws. Whereas on one hand, commissions can be made for women, children, SC ST, OBC commission even trees and plants, then why cannot a national commission be made for men?
Therefore, a Men’s Commission should also be set up in the country in which men are heard and they can get justice. Just as the women’s commission, SC-ST and OBC commission in the country give justice to the concerned party by listening to their complaints of harassment, similarly there should be a men’s commission to listen to the aggrieved men, in which there is an option of virtual hearing. It is well known that human rights are equal for women and men and the work of law is to protect the rights of all. Unfortunately, the laws made for women are unilateral till date. Therefore, there should be no discrimination between criminals in justice and law, whether it is a woman or a man. The work of law should be to punish the offender. In conclusion, the people of the society should only stand with the truth and the media and the law should also reach a conclusion only after investigation so that the victim is a woman or a man can get equal justice.
(Author is journalist, writer, columnist, blogger, physical yoga instructor and National record holder (“India book of records”2021) . The views expressed are personal opinion of the author. He can be reached at laljijayswal99@gmail.com)
