Shantamma from Bagalkote wrote to the women’s commission requesting protection after she began to receive threats from a family to whom she had given money to buy property for her.
According to statistics given out by the women’s commission, fearing for life and safety are among the top concerns for women in Karnataka.
Shantamma from Bagalkote wrote to the women’s commission requesting protection after she began to receive threats from a family to whom she had given money to buy property for her. Neither did she receive the property nor the money.
However, when she demanded a refund, she was threatened, Shantamma alleged in her petition. Women continue to flock women’s commission with such complaints.
From January to March, the commission had received 107 such requests for protection. In March alone, there were 189 pleas for protection.
“Such matters are immediately attended to. We write to the police and ask them to give protection to these women and also give us a report on the action taken,” said a commission advisor.
Dowry harassment cases add to the statistic too. In Bangalore, of the 234 cases the commission had received from January to March, 11 are dowry issues. About three dowry death cases have been filed before the commission.
Harassment at workplace is also on top of the list. About 16 complaints have been filed. According to the programme officers, cases of cheating by lovers after promising marriage and having sexual relations and instances of husbands entering second marriages are high in number.
“Women write to us pleading that the second marriages of their husbands be stopped. We immediately write to the police to do so. Such cases are plenty,” a staff member said.
Often, when harassed, women approach the commission, husbands patch up with their wives only to wriggle out of the case. In such cases, the commission is forced to keep aside the file until the petitioners return. Despite these, the number of files is growing by the day.
Currently, there are 682 cases pending before the commission. The commission is drowning in a sea of files without enough hands to clear them, said chairperson Manjula C who completed 100 days last week.
“There has been no sanction for staff in 15 years. There are no bench clerks, counsellors, case workers, or superintendents. We need more staff to resolve cases at a better speed,” she said.
There are about 20 people on the rolls here. The commission requires about eight additional counsellors. Bangalore itself is an ocean which contributes to a huge fraction of total cases before the commission.
The need for more qualified, well-paid people on the commission is being felt as never before, commission employees said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}