I recently read two decisions made by Kerala Court and honestly till yesterday I was really appreciating the respected court for the first decision. Still, when I read the second one today I was really disappointed and heartbroken.
“Husband’s Repeated Taunts, Comparisons with Other Women Qualify as Mental Cruelty”
At the outset, let me share my opinion on the first one, “Husband’s Repeated Taunts, Comparisons with Other Women Qualify as Mental Cruelty ”. I mean just read the verdict again, I was really so contented that I wanted to write about it and share it with the whole world. You might have heard or read, “dusro ki biwi zyada acchi lagti hai’, this is fine unless it is taken in a fun way, but some men take it literally.
It doesn’t matter how beautiful your wife is, how qualified she is and how impressive she is, some men are never satisfied. I really don’t have to go far to experience that, I have witnessed it at my home only. “Kuch seekho usse” (learnt something from them) is the basic dialogue of such men and one can’t even imagine what big torture is to listen to such taunts on a daily basis.
In the movie Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan told a story about a village and a tree wherein the village wanted to get rid of the tree but they couldn’t, so every day they used to come near the tree and abuse it immensely, and one day the tree died itself. The story states that the words are enough to kill someone, and taunts are big torture for anyone. The word mental cruelty is apt for such taunts and the comparisons made. Once again, I really appreciate the court’s decision.
“Sexual Harassment complaint is invalid if the woman was wearing a provocative dress”
Coming to the second decision which I read today just blew off my mind. It said, “Sexual Harrassment complaint is invalid if woman was wearing a provocative dress”. Seriously, how can you blame a girl’s dress for someone’s bad eyes and comments? As much as I was amazed at the first one, I am more ashamed reading the second one. I am sure this would have shaken the girls of Kerala and other states too. I wrote a blog that now it’s time for India’s people to upgrade their mindset; I think they are just busy upgrading their phone’s software.
I even hate to think that just because I am wearing a midi skirt or midi dress, boys have the right to say anything to me. India might be a free country, but the women of India are still bounded. I mean, the people were not enough to make women feel insulted, and now a respected court is doing the same too. Why should I think 100 times about what I should wear?
The right to freedom gives citizens basic freedom with respect to speech and expression, form associations, freedom of personal liberty, freedom to live a life of dignity, etc but where is personal liberty? In Fact, such decisions give liberty to wrong people to do whatever they want.
I am not a feminist, but I am also not in favour of such decisions. I think every decision has an enormous impact on society; where one decision gave utmost respect to women, the second one took it back.