PACHOD (AURANGABAD), Mar 31: In a `marriage-dominated' rural Indian society, divorce is still a dirty word, but is not such an uncommon condition any more. There are six lakh deserted women in Maharashtra alone according to the Nari Vikas Pratishthan, a social organisation based in Aurangabad. A whopping 30,000 women attended a conference for deserted women way back in 1994.In an effort to prepare young girls to deal with such an eventuality, the Institute of Health Management (IHM), Pachod, in Aurangabad district plans to train them to be aware of their legal rights. Lawyers at the Nari Vikas Pratishthan in Aurangabad come across five to six cases of desertion every month. Manisha Khare from IHM says that she encountered 20 cases of desertion in a single village. According to IHM statistics, eight per cent of women in Paithan are deserted in the first two years of marriage. This figure, they say, is comparable with other talukas of Maharashtra.
The IHM, in collaboration with Nari Vikas Pratishthan,Aurangabad and Human Rights Law Network, Mumbai will be providing legal awareness to 100 women from rural areas of Aurangabad district. According to IHM director Dr Ashok Dayalchand, these women will then train 15 women each from their own villages. ``We will design a 200-hour curriculum to be finished in 90-minute evening daily classes. The training process should be over in an 18-month interaction period,'' says Dayalchand. At a seminar held at the IHM, Pachod on March 21, an `Awareness package' for this training was evolved. This `Awareness package' will provide women with guidelines on how they can protect themselves from exploitation in case of desertion. For instance, it will be stressed that a wedding must be registered and a marriage certificate issued. This is to avoid instances of men denying that they ever married the deserted woman at all. Wedding cards or pictures of the event may not stand as evidence in court if forgery is alleged. Crucial witnesses like the priest or photographer could turnhostile in court. The women will also be given specific information on job opportunities, hostel facilities, including government resolutions (GRs) on caste-based reservations for those under the poverty line. Vital information like two per cent reservation for divorced women in Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Diploma in Education (D.Ed) courses will be given.
A comprehensive list of relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will be provided to these women. For instance, 498 A deals with dowry harassment, 354 with outraging of modesty, 125 with maintenance and so on. ``Women often hesitate to use the incriminating Section 498 A as there is always hope of a reconciliation. In other cases, women want punitive action to be taken so that husbands realise that they too can exert power. For instance, a woman came to us insisting that we `teach her husband a lesson'.
Just for her satisfaction, we asked the police to put him behind bars for a few hours. He stopped beating her after that,'' says SudhataiKaldate, director of the Nari Vikas Pratishthan. Mumbai-based advocate Colin Gonsalves suggests that women be taught how to file a first information report and impressed upon them that there should be no discrepancy between the verbal and the written complaint. They must be made aware of the fact that they cannot be called to the police station after 7 pm. According to Aurangabad-based advocate Pravin Wagh, women do not know that polygamy is illegal and that a man can be punished for it. A case where a man has been punished for polygamy can be highlighted in the training programme. The legal implications of under-age marriages and compensation in case of accidents should be mentioned.
They should be told about the different kinds of courts and Marriage Acts. In rape cases, women will be trained on how they should take the victim to the hospital and informed about their rights.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
