Govt wants Indian laws for NRIs dumping wives

New Delhi, Jan 8: Women and Child Development Minister, Renuka Chowdhury, today expressed concern over the rising cases of NRIs dumping their wives in India and said the government is negotiating with the US and UK governments within existing treaties to make Indian laws applicable to them.

Addressing the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2007 here, Ms Chowdhury said that the issue of NRI boys marrying in India and leaving their wives on pretext of passport and visa has assumed a serious proportion in Punjab, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. "Many a times these NRI men marry in India and take divorce after reaching the foreign land where the laws are different so the hapless women can't claim any support. They have no access to justice," she pointed out.

Therefore, the government is negotiating with the US and the UK government a measure under which such unscrupulous elements could be tried under the Indian laws, she said.

The minister said that due to rampant female foeticide a crisis is developing in India with one crore girls being killed every year by using modern scientific techniques. She said that despite the PNDT Act it was happening and many people feel that foeticide is a personal issue in which the government should not interfere but it was not so as gender disparity would create a crisis like the one HIV/AIDS brought in Africa where an entire generation of women were wiped out due to the disease.

Pointing out that violence and conflict like the one in Jammu and Kashmir and North East have far more grave consequences for women, she said women, especially the girl child needs legislation and reservation to survive. She also stressed the need for microfinance and Self Help Groups for economic empowerment of women.

Pointing out that recently, women have been given equal share of property under the law, Ms Chowdhury said the fairer sex have achieved a lot in India with even the Supreme Court holding that the mother be considered as the natural guardian of a child. ''However, the problem arises when instead of marrying women for their intelligence, people marry for money and dowry.

Ms Chowdhury said enactment of laws like Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, setting up of Child Rights Commission and the proposed law for protection of child from abuse would go a long way in ensuring welfare of women and children in the country. Asserting that the government was committed for the welfare of Indian women working abroad especially in the Gulf countries, she said her ministry has taken up the issue of domestic workers, problem of nurses and other women in distress while working abroad with the ministry of overseas affairs.

The minister said gender sensitisation was must not only to give a respectable place to women in society but also to maintain the balance of civil society. She said efforts were being made to provide creches to working mothers at their place of work to allow them parity with their male counterparts in all respects.

Speaking on this occasion, National Commission for Women Chairperson Girija Vyas said the incidents of rape, kidnapping and other crimes against women have risen during the recent past he said women need a greater share in the development process and employment.

CPI(M) leader and women's right activist Brinda Karat pointed out the plight of domestic women workers in Gulf countries as they have no access to justice and remain isolated from their families in foreign land. She urged NRI in these country to set up NGOs and help these vulnerable women.

Expressing concern for the plight of wives dumped by their NRI husbands, Ms Karat said that close networking of NGOs and women groups should be developed by diaspora abroad so that in coordination with Indian embassies they could provide succour to these victims.

Ms Chowdhury also stressed the need for developing a network of women groups and individuals which could go a long way in adoption of orphaned children and helping women abandoned by their families.

UNI