State women�s bodies join rest of India counterparts against Sec 489A �dilution�
GUWAHATI, Aug 25 - After the Assam State Commission for Women, the women�s organisations of the State also have petitioned the National Commission for Women (NCW) registering their protest against dilution of Section 489A of the IPC, along with approximately 150 women�s organisations of the country.
Along with protesting the recent SC ruling that has allegedly diluted Section 489A of the IPC that protects women against violence in their matrimonial homes, the organisations have also raised strong objections to Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi�s directive to the NCW on setting up windows for men who allege that false cases have been filed against them.
�The organisations have sought immediate intervention of the NCW to prevent the undermining of laws related to violence against women thereby eroding women�s rights and access to justice,� said Nilanju Dutta who was part of the delegation that met NCW Chairperson L Kumarmangalam on Tuesday in New Delhi.
The women�s bodies of Assam also expressed their concern over the issue at a meeting with the State Women�s Commission.
�The recent ruling not only gives credence to the unsubstantiated allegations that large number women are misusing laws and filing false complaints against men, it further dilutes all laws that have been enacted to protect women against physical, mental and sexual abuse,� the organisations alleged.
�At the meeting strong objection was also expressed against the directive by the Ministry of Women and Child Development with respect to the NCW setting up and operationalising an online complaint system to attend to complaints from men who claim they have been falsely implicated in cases of domestic violence, dowry, rape, etc. This directive is in clear violation of the autonomy of the Commission, which is an independent statutory body,� Dutta added.
The organisations further alleged that such a complaint system, without a thorough study about the rights violation of men would not just strengthen the myth about the women misusing the legal provisions, but would also make justice more inaccessible for women, in the present male-dominated social set-up.
�Further, setting up such a window does not fall within the mandate of the NCW, as it has been created to protect the rights of women,� they added.
