Neha Chaudhari*& Pawan Kumar**
Domestic violence is as old as emergence of
family in human history. It is prevalent in almost all the society across the
world. Present article argues that at every stage in so called civilized and
educated society of India there is discrimination and violence against girl children
and later women within the household, either natal or conjugal. Violence
against women in the household is used as a way of securing and
maintaining the relations of male dominance and female subordination, which is
central to the patriarchal social order. It is spread in all over India in different
magnitude. Although metro cities showed less rate of domestic violence but the
situation is not satisfactory. Despite the fact that a wide range of
interventionist services exist and there is a very progressive legislation
against domestic violence in India due to various cultural and structural
constraints, women find it difficult to access them. There is an urgent need for awareness
among women regarding their legal rights, welfare programmes, gender equality,
and biased socialization. Local organizations as well as media may play a
significant role regarding this issue.
Introduction- Domestic
violence is the most prevalent, ancient, ignored and hidden violence against women and girls since the
time immemorial in human civilization. It is the most serious violation of all
basic rights that a woman suffers in her own home at the hand of members within
her own family usually by men. Domestic
violence, also known as domestic
abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and Intimate Partner
Violence (IPV), is defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one partner
against another in an intimate
relationship such as marriage, dating,
family, or cohabitation. Domestic violence, so defined, has many forms, including physical
aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining,
slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexualabuse; emotionalabuse,controlling,or,domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse
(e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation.
The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a "pattern of abusive
behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner". Present paper is focused on domestic
violence against women in Indian Society. In the era of globalization nature of
domestic violence has changed.
Globalization is a social process which is moving in the direction of creating
a global society by involving the countries of the world in various kind of
economic, political, educational and culture exchange and interdependencies.
But on the issue of impact of globalization we can say that all countries of
the world do not enjoy the same social, culture and economic status. It may
produce effects detrimental to the interests of the Indian society. There will
be further deterioration of the status of women in India due to the fact
globalization will introduce western culture which will be dominant all over
India1. Secondly education has been regarded as the most significant
instrument for changing women’s subjugated position in the society. It not only
develops the personality and rationality of individuals, but qualifies them to
fulfill certain economic, political and cultural functions and thereby improves
their socio-economic status. One of the direct expectations from educational
development in a society is the reduction in the inequality among individuals
and that is why Education was included as the basic right of every human being
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The constitution of United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also directs
its efforts to achieve `The ideal of equality of educational opportunity
without regard to race, sex or any distinction, economic or social2.
Attributable to globalization and an educated society, standards of living have
changed successfully but, both of them became failure to change the traditional
thinking of male supremacy which makes domestic violence against women most
serious problem in India.
Violence
may be defined as the use of force against some body. Women and violence are
two opposite polls in the social milieu, while the women create human being;
the violence is distraction of creatures. What an irony of fate3? “Violence against women is a manifestation of
historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to
domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention
of the full advancement of women...” (The United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, General Assembly Resolution, December
1993.)
Collins dictionary
defines violence as:
a) Behavior
which is meant to hurt or kills people.
b) Great deal of energy used in doing something usually
because you are very angry.
c) Words,
action or other forms of expression which are critical or destructive4.
The family is often equated with
sanctuary – a place where individuals seek love, safety, security, and shelter.
But the evidence shows that it is also a place that imperils lives, and breeds
some of the most drastic forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls.
It is violent victimization of women, within the boundaries of family, usually
by men or his family”5. Which affects women of any age, she may be a
girl child, unmarried, married or elderly women including a widow or such women
to whom men have marriage like relationship. Domestic violence refers to the
use of physical or emotional force or threat of physical force, including
sexual violence in close adult relationships’. Violence in the domestic sphere
is usually perpetrated by males who are, or who have been, in positions of
trust and intimacy and power – husbands, boyfriends, fathers, fathers-in-law,
stepfathers, brothers, uncles, sons, or other relatives. Domestic violence is
in most cases violence perpetrated by men against women. Women can also be
violent, but their actions account for a small percentage of domestic violence.
The term ‘domestic violence’ goes beyond actual physical violence. It can also
involve emotional abuse; the destruction of property; isolation from friends,
family and other potential sources of support; threats to others including
children; stalking; and control over access to money, personal items, food,
transportation and the telephone’. ‘Domestic Violence occurs in all social
classes and is equally prevalent in both rural and urban settings. In the vast
majority of cases where violence occurs among persons who are known to one
another, researches have shown that women are injured and men perpetrate the
assault’.
Violence against women is often a cycle of abuse that manifests itself
in many forms throughout their lives. Even at the very beginning of her life, a
girl may be the target of sex-selective abortion or female infanticide in
cultures where son preference is prevalent. During childhood, violence against
girls may include enforced malnutrition, lack of access to medical care and
education, incest, female genital mutilation, early marriage, and forced
prostitution or bonded labour. Some go on to suffer throughout their adult
lives – battered, raped and even murdered at the hands of intimate partners.
Other crimes of violence against women include forced pregnancy, abortion or
sterilization, and harmful traditional practices such as dowry-related
violence, sati (the burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband), and
killings in the name of honour. Moreover, it might be too terrible in later
life of widows. Violence against women can be of different types and of
different magnitude (measured in terms of its effect on victim’s physical,
mental and emotional health) also.
The most alarming revelation depicted in the article, are the results of
a study determining a correlation between an increase in domestic violence and
an increase in a woman’s education level along with the revelation that 45% of
Indian women are abused by their husbands and nearly 75% of women who reported
abuse have attempted suicide.
Female Literacy in India
According to the Census of India, held in 2001, the percentage of female
literacy in the country was 54.16 per cent. The literacy rate in the country
has increased from 18.33 per cent in 1951 to 65.38 per cent as per 2001 census.
The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86 per cent in 1951 to 54.16
per cent. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period
1991-2001 increased by 14.87 per cent whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72
per cent only. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15 per
cent more compared to male literacy rate.
Number of Educated Job Seekers Women as
on December 2004 was 7537.7 thousand. Educated Women at the end of 2004
accounted for 25.8 per cent of the total educated job-seekers6.
Scope of Risk- There
is no single factor to account of domestic violence against women in Indian
society which is primarily a male dominated society. The big causes of domestic
violence are biased socialization process and discrimination against girl child
which make women convicted about her subordinate status. In the era of
globalization although social realities of life have change drastically, the
old thinking about submissive and dependent role of women has not changed so
the men have always been taught to perceive themselves as the superior sex,
said Jyotsna Chatterjee, director of the Joint Women's Program, a women's
resource organization based in New Delhi. It is this conditioning, she said,
that makes them believe they have to control their wives, especially if they
are considered disobedient. The husband still expects her to play the role of
traditional wife in home but outside he expects her to act like a morden women.
He want his wife is educated, morden and working women but didn’t faith her if
she have any male friend.
Although men's preoccupation with
controlling their wives declines with age – as does the incidence of sexual
violence – researchers found that the highest rates of sexual violence were
among highly educated men. Almost thirty two percent of men with zero years of
education and 42 per cent of men with one to five years of education reported
sexual violence. Among men with six to 10 years of education as well as those
with high school education and higher; this figure increased to 57 percent. A
similar pattern was seen when the problem was analyzed according to income and
socio-economic standing. Those at the lowest rungs of the socio-economic
ladder, migrant laborers, cobblers, carpenters, and barbers; showed a sexual
violence rate of 35 per cent. The rate almost doubled to 61 per cent among the
highest income groups. Researchers have not determined why men with higher
incomes and educations are more likely to be violent towards women7.
According to National Family Health Surveys
(NFHS-III) for India 2005-06, domestic violence against women is defined as an
act involving physical and sexual violence for all women by anyone or spousal
physical, sexual, and emotional violence for ever-married women or combination
of both. Spousal violence is found that the most common form of violence
against women and a significant proportion of ever married women in the age
group of 15-49 usually are more vulnerable to this kind of violence (which
includes physical sexual or emotional violence). After education, drinking
habit of male partner is the most profound reason for violence8.
The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural
areas (40.2%) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4%). In Bihar, women
in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. While 62.2 per cent
underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in
villages. It is followed by Rajasthan
(46.3%), Madhya Pradesh (45.8%), Tripura (44.1%), Manipur (43.9%), Uttar
Pradesh (42.4%), Tamil Nadu (41.9%), West Bengal (40.3%) and Arunachal Pradesh
(38.8%). Among the metros, the fairer
sex was better off in Delhi (16.3%) and Mumbai (19.5%) recorded relatively low
percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6%) and Kolkata (26.7%). Nearly, 17 per
cent of women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 per cent of women in
rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban
areas. In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per
cent of women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the
figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent of women in Jharkhand villages
found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas. In the
hilly state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent of women experienced violence,
with those in villages (29.8%) fared worse than their urban counterparts
(22.8%). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and
Kashmir (12.6%), Meghalaya (13.1%), Nagaland (15.4%), Sikkim (16.5%) and Kerala
(16.4%).
Other states
where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6%), Arunachal Pradesh
(38.8%), Orissa (38.5%), Maharashtra (30.7%), Andhra Pradesh (35.2%), Haryana
(27.3%), Gujarat (27.6%), Punjab (25.4%), Mizoram (22.5%) and Karnataka (20%)9.
According to
the study conducted in the year 2002, 45 per cent of Indian women are slapped,
kicked or beaten by their husbands. India also had the highest rate of violence
during pregnancy. Of the women reporting violence, 50 per cent were kicked,
beaten or hit when pregnant. About 74.8 per cent of the women who reported
violence have attempted to commit suicide.
Kumud Sharma
of the Centre for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi traced the
correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes.
"Educated women are aware of their rights," she said. "They are
no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it
causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states,
working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no
control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their
right, there is bound to be friction." Domestic violence experts say the
problem in India stems from a cultural bias against women who challenge their
husband's right to control their behavior10.
Conclusion
Combating domestic violence is a challenging task how can
people persuaded to stop accepting or condoning violence committed by their own
friends and relatives. The Government of India had taken a bold step. Domestic
violence act is in existing. But law is not a neutral force in male dominant
societies. Government should ensure proper enforcement of existing laws related
to women’s rights. Women should be made aware of National Commission for Women.
The offices of the National Commission for Women should be opened at the
district and lower levels. Women themselves should also be motivated to enhance
self-esteem, self respect and self-confidence. Awareness about gender equality
and women’s rights should be instilled in boys and girls from a very early age
in order to bring about a change in the mindset of the future generation which
should be possible by stopping biased socialization and structural change in
socialization process. Media weather print or electronic may play an important
role regarding equality of gender. Discussions on women’s issues with victims
and key personnel could be promoted through the media, to give a new venue to
the airing of the complaints and finding solutions to the offences. Media
should be used to sensitize the officials and the public about domestic
violence so as to develop a positive attitude towards women in general, and
women victims, in particular. Censoring of the programmes should be implemented
effectively, so that violence and negative impact programmes do not get undue
attention of the public.
Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a
woman can dream of. But she still has to go a long way to achieve equal status
in the minds of Indian men. The process of modernization should tend the women
to change their conservative attitude and to gain awareness for changing their
traditional values in appositive direction.
References:
1. Yadav, Sushma &
Anil Mishra, Oatterns of Gender violence, Radha pub, New Delhi, 2002.
2.
Impact of Education on Domestic
Violence & Development of Women through Education.
3. Awasthy, Abha,
Intruductory Letter of Seminor on violence against women, L.U., 1992.
4. Veer, Udai, Crime
against women, Anmol publication PVT. LTD, 2004.
5.
Sood, Sushma, Violence against women,
Arihant publication, Jaipur (India), 1990.
6. Majumdar, Swapna, In India, Domestic Violence Rises with
Education, November 6, 2003.
7. Domestic Violence and Women’s Health in India: Evidence from Health
Survey&-ASARC Working Paper 2009/13n Manoj K. Pandey, P Singh, Institute of
Economic Growth, Delhi,
8. National Family
Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.
Dr. Neha Chaudhari* and Pawan Kumar**
Assistant
Professor in D.A.V. P.G. College, B.H.U.,
**Research
Scholar in Department of Community Medicine, I.M.S., B.H.U., Varanasi, Uttar
Pradesh, India
