Men’s frustration root cause of domestic violence : The Tribune India

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Men’s frustration root cause of domestic violence

VIOLENCE against women takes many forms.

Men’s frustration root cause of domestic violence

Unfair: Gender-based violence is an outcome of systemic discrimination and inequality between the sexes.



Prem Chowdhry
Author and academic, Delhi University

VIOLENCE against women takes many forms. It takes place both in the private and public realms. It manifests itself in acts of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, acid attack, domestic violence, marital rape, sex-selective abortion, voyeurism, stalking and ‘honour killing’. Gender-based violence is an outcome of systemic discrimination and inequality between the sexes, and is a violation of fundamental rights of the victim.

I shall concentrate on spousal violence, which is widespread in our country. Official data continues to indicate that domestic violence is on the rise and so do the media reports of gruesome cases of intimate partner violence. According to the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS) of 2005-06, 27 per cent of all married women have experienced physical, emotional and sexual violence. Activists claim that the percentage is actually much higher. 

It is important to understand the cultural context of how marital violence is perceived by men and women and what is the level of its acceptance. For this, I shall rely upon my fieldwork done in my state, Haryana.

Culturally, beating women is very much part of the rural culture, accepted as a matter of course by men and women. To understand this, the ideology summed up in a popular proverb, common throughout northern India, is useful: joru khasam ki ladai kya (a quarrel between a married couple is of no consequence). This proverb shows the acceptance of ladai (quarrel), as a ‘verbal duel’, which is considered innocuous; but in reality, it often means infliction of physical violence on the woman. Rural society has always sanctioned wife-beating. “The man who beats his wife or the family that beats its bahu are all considered to be doing the right thing,” pontificate the older generation of men in the villages. The general opinion voiced by a majority of the men regarding the infliction of violence on their wives ranged from total denial to prevarication. A few confessed to having used a ‘couple of slaps’ here and there ‘to keep the women in line’. However, an underlying impression of both men and women was that physical violence has declined over the years. 

Two factors which are identified and highlighted by women themselves in their individual and collective take on violence are: alcoholism and unemployment of men. Both accentuate men’s frustration that is frequently taken out on women, especially their wives. The foremost was growing alcoholism. Women voiced a strong co-relation between the two. The existence of a vast network of sharab ke theke (licensed liquor shops) has become a continually growing problem in northern India. The ban on liquor in Bihar is a recent example of dealing with this problem. The women consider the spread of liquor and intoxicants as the cause of tension in homes, leading to shortage of money for family expenses, frequent quarrels, and extortion of money from women, leading to violence. Liquor is clearly behind the deteriorating quality of a woman’s life and cuts across region, caste and class lines.

This increase in the consumption of liquor has been triggered by a cluster of inter-related causes, peculiar to different classes and even caste groups. Among these causes, the increased paying capacity of the consumers, particularly in the rural areas, has been a decisive factor both according to the academics and the rural perception. Interestingly, the two reasons advocated for the popularity of alcohol among the lower castes and classes, in direct opposition to higher castes and classes, is economic deprivation and low self-esteem. The rise in alcohol consumption has also been indirectly encouraged by the state with a major stake in its revenue — through its excise policy and licensing of an increasing number of retail shops. 

Apart from alcoholism, unemployment of men is primarily responsible for violence against women. The great increase in population and pressure on land due to limited expansion in commerce and industry and the overburdening of the agrarian sector has created severe unemployment. Rural unemployment is calculated to be almost twice of urban unemployment. Widespread unemployment and the consequent inability of a man to support his family are a major cause of frustration, lack of confidence and an onslaught on their masculinity. Together, these lead to domestic violence. 

Among the unemployed, the plight of the educated male is particularly alarming. Those among the educated who are employed may well be having a job not commensurate with their educational status. This factor, according to women, causes more frustration than men can handle. Newspapers are full of reports about MA/PhD holders working as a peon or chowkidar. Unemployment is especially aggravated as the boys are not willing to settle down to an agricultural life in the village. There is a great scramble for any employment, high or low, whatever the social status. The jobs in their own villages are limited and very few can be absorbed in them. Village women say that even those boys who have studied only up to matriculation (Class X) and have qualified by nakal (copying or cheating) want white-collar jobs. Large-scale unemployment is leading to social disorder, lawlessness and violence in society — both public and private. 

While there have been many legislative reforms to safeguard women’s rights, the infrastructure to actualise the ambitious and far-reaching reforms are sadly lacking within our court spaces. Among such reforms was the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005), aimed at protecting women from physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse and securing their rights of residence in their matrimonial home. However, it was hardly implemented. 

According to Flavia Agnes, a women’s rights lawyer and activist, “Despite legislation, the protection of women’s legal rights in various courts continues to be mired in confusing legalities, expensive lawyers and tunnel vision in dealing with domestic violence.” This has meant that reforms have remained largely ornamental, while the litigation space has continued to be hostile to women who approach the courts for the protection of their rights. This is an area that needs immediate attention.

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