State Editions
Plea for Commission for Men justified
The plea of creating a Commission for Men is justified and the civil society, of late, has been raising its voice for such a commission for men which will be an independent body for ventilating their grievances. Men folk also deserve equal justice, sympathy and consideration on par with women. There is also constitutional mandate for equal and even-handed justice for both men and women.
At the outset, it can be well said that over last two decades, there has been public consciousness and mass mobilization for women empowerment and for gender justice. This subject has become a principal agenda of the Central Government as well as the State Governments. The political parties have also highlighted the issues relating to women empowerment and to give them justice and equal rights in the society. There has been persistent demand for the equal representation of women in politics, administration and in the statecraft. In this backdrop, it is heartening to note that women have achieved a lot to establish their rights in a big way over the years.
Laws have also been framed like Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, Sati Abolition Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Prohibition of Indecent Exposure of Women Act and Prevention of Traffic on Women Act etc. These laws are beneficial and wholesome legislation designed to take care of the women in distress. The women who are harassed and tortured for any reason whatsoever can have now easy access to justice and approach the court of law for the injustice meted out to them both at home and outside.
In this context, it is worthy of mention that our Constitution guarantees equal rights and justice for both men and women alike. There is no discrimination in this regard on the basis of caste, creed, color, sex etc. In spite of the constitutional mandate, it is seen that there has been inequality in different facets of social life so far as rights of men and women are concerned. The Constitution has also provided special provision and safeguards regarding the rights of women in matters of employment and other reservation policy of the Government from time to time. It is true that we are in a male – dominated society and there is still male chauvinism but over the years, this has been done away with and the men are also concerned regarding the rights of women. The State has also shown its anxiety in the areas of gender justice and many welfare measures have been made to uplift the life and condition of women in the society.
Similarly, whenever there is violence on women in the house or outside, to combat the same and to give justice to them, the law enforcing officials of the State take action under the law to bring the offender before justice. These are certainly legal safeguards for women in the areas of social justice and for their empowerment.
On the face of the rights of women, surprisingly there are no special laws or protection for men who are also subjected to different kinds of harassment and torture both physical and mental. It is distressing to note that, of late, after marriage there are instances where the husband is harassed at the hands of his wife and by his in-laws. The tragedy is that if a woman would come up with the allegation of dowry demand and torture against her husband and in-laws, the law in the statute book would be awakened and the law enforcing machinery would take action immediately. In some cases, the husband and his parents are also arrested and taken into custody by the investigating officer without even properly inquiring about the truth or otherwise of the complaint of the wife. Therefore road is wide open for the wife to ventilate her grievance against the husband and take legal action but the vice-versa is not always available to the poor husband who is left in the lurch.
It is unfortunate that in many such cases of alleged dowry demand and harassment, the husband and in-laws are framed without any semblance of truth. Therefore, to guard against the misuse of law and more particularly, the provisions of Dowry Prohibition Act and Section – 498(A) of the IPC, recently the Supreme Court has put a rider regarding the application of law in connection with the arrest of the husband in dowry related case. The court held that arrest can be made only where the investigating officer would collect foolproof evidence and after obtaining the permission of the magistrate for the purpose. The judgment of the Supreme Court has instilled a sense of confidence in public mind about the efficacy of our criminal justice system.
To sum up, it can be well said that over the years there has been women empowerment with full force. In the areas of gender justice, particularly to enforce laws and guard against violence on women and sexual harassment, the law enforcing machinery is ever alert. In this regard there may be occasional lapses but that will not be a ground to deny justice to men-folk whenever they are harassed in the family and are in distress. They also need assistance of law, sympathy and consideration from the law enforcing officers of the State. There must be equal and even-handed justice both for men and women alike. Discriminatory attitude towards men are opposed to constitutional ethics.
(Prof Das is an ex-Special Judge, CBI. Mob: 9437022723)
0
