As Mother’s day was celebrated across the world with people posing with their mothers and sharing pictures on social media with impressive captions praising mothers. Well, it has its own value as the value and position of Mothers is being talked about and that has a positive impact on the minds of the people.
Unfortunately, in Kashmir’s Baramulla district a young mother of two children on the same day died allegedly of Domestic violence and the amount of condemnation has not been sufficient. Zahida, 29, wife of Tariq Ahmad Mir, resident of Kokothal Kreeri had received a critical injury on her head and had been put on ventilator at SKIMS Srinagar before she died on Sunday evening. The family members of the injured woman in their complaint have alleged that their daughter was being harassed on and on by her husband and in-laws. They alleged that a few days back, her husband ruthlessly beat her and hit her head with some object causing critical head injury.
Domestic violence is violence committed by someone in the victim’s domestic circle. This includes partners and ex-partners, immediate family members, other relatives, and family friends. The term ‘domestic violence’ is used when there is a close relationship between the offender and the victim. In rarest of the rare cases men become victims of domestic violence. Globally, the victims of domestic violence are overwhelmingly women, and women tend to experience more severe forms of violence. Domestic violence is among the most underreported crimes due to social stigmatisation associated with it, worldwide for both men and women.
The violence is mostly occurs in immigrant communities, as there is little awareness in these communities of the laws and policies of the host country. In Kashmir, it is believed that victims of Domestic violence prefer not to report the violence despite the fact that the number of cases reported has seen a surge in the past few years. Police in the region have established women helpline desks that have been playing an active role in dealing with the cases but the conviction has not seen much improvement. As the number of such cases is surging there is an immediate need to reformi the legislation in order to ensure that Domestic Violence falls under the strong law where conviction becomes inevitable. This may imply repealing existing laws which discriminate against women: according to the WHO, “when the law allows husbands to physically discipline wives, implementing a programme to prevent intimate partner violence may have little impact”. Marriage laws are also important; “women should also be able to enter freely into a marriage or to leave it, to obtain financial credit, and to own and administer property. Abolishing or restricting the offering and receiving of dowry and bride price and scrutinizing the impact of these transactions on the legislative decisions regarding Domestic violence is also important to put an end to domestic violence.
