One of the most lively, extrovert and fearless journalist from our very own Pimpri Chinchwad took her own life. Her suicidal death has sent a shock wave throughout legal as well as media community.
She is being poured with condolence messages, yet there exists a thought as to why a crime beat journalist should take her own life. One of the main causes of her death is being attributed to domestic violence. However, for many of us this is a hard pill to swallow. It is being presumed that being a crime reporter she was well aware of her legal rights and legal machinery and she ought to have used it instead of taking her own life.
However, here we fail to understand that there is a huge difference in being aware of ones legal rights and being able to execute them. We do place immense importance to the extent of pressure on the instituion of marriage. The pressure exceeds more upon women and they take everything that there is to maintain the institution. Women are known to mold themselves much against their own will to become into something they aren't, only to maintain the institution of marriage.
When we come across an unfortunate woman who had to take her life owing to the matrimonial disputes we are quick to dismiss the act saying why she did not take matters in her own hands at the very first instance of domestic abuse, thus completely undermining the legal set up of our country which has many laws in the favor of women and social set up which cripples them for taking recourse to legal action. Also, when we come across women who take to legal recourse in domestic abuse, we are eager to accuse her for misusing the legal provisions. Many a times when women do find courage to approach the police, the cases against them are not registered by saying that it is a domestic issue and in many cases if the woman is persistent the police lodge a simple case of non-cognizable offence against the offenders. The Women Protection Cell constituted for dealing with criminal acts in domestic sphere is completely against the spirit and letter of Criminal law which mandates registering of FIR in case of cognizable offences.
There is a need for sentisization of Police, Executive, Legislature, Judicial system. There is also a massive need for such sentisisation of our collective mindset which treats a matrimonial dispute as 'Ghar ka mamala'. Such a change is necessary wherein the economics of our times is changing and is inevitably changing domestic relations.
Afterall, Personal is Political.
(This write up is dedicated to the unfortunate souls who are a victim of domestic abuse and also to all the brave hearts who battle domestic abuse.)
