Manual for much-needed help to victims of gender biased laws

New Delhi, Feb 16 (UNI) Continuing with their fight against gender biased laws and their misuse, Gender Human Rights Society (GHRS), a Non-Governmental Organisation, today launched a manual covering various aspects of Domestic Violence Act, 2006, sexual harassment at workplace bill, 2007 and 498A survival guide.

Titled ''Wrong Gender Biased laws'', the manual is a deliberation if the women commission or the ''Radical Feminists'' as they call it, have gone too far in proposing gender biased laws.

It is a compilation of laws, proposals, statistics, Supreme Court judgements, real life cases and media coverages and articles on related issues.

Launching the manual, Sandeep Bhartia, President of GHRS said: ''the book is expected to provide some much needed relief to the victims of legal terrorism''.

''It is also an attempt to explain why the current and new gender biased laws proposed by the radical groups are a recipe for social disaster,'' he added.

On the sidelines of the launch, the members of the society pleaded that the time period for divorce should be reduced to 7 years after seperation.

Also, highlighting the discrepencies in the Domestic Violence Act, Mr Bhartia stressed that judges and not ''radical feminists'' should be appointed to make laws as they have more experience and are analytical.

Sanjeev Swaroop of Save Indian Family Foundation, another organisation working against 498A IPC misuse (dowry harassment) took the opportunity to express how these laws were being torted to extort money.

''All I want to know is why are the men forced to give huge compensation in all such cases. Convict us, send us to jail but why monetary compensation?'' he asked.

''We want amendments in the DV law which says that the house of the husband, her relatives and friends would go to his wife, if found to be a victim of Domestic Violence.'' The activists hailed the Supreme Court judgement in Batra Vs Batra where it was held that the DV Act should be applied only to those houses owned by the husband or rented or ancestral property.

''This is why we want retired judges to frame laws and amendments and not some women activists without any sound family background like the chairperson of National Commission for Women,'' said Mr Swaroop.

The members of the above mentioned organisations stressed the need for reformaton of ''gender bisaed'' laws and questioned, ''what has Renuka Chaudhary given to the nation except this DV Act?'' They, however, welcomed the recent decision of the Women and Child Development Ministry to consult the men activists before bringing in necessary amendments in women protection laws.

A copy of the manual would be sent to the ministries and women organisations concerned.

UNI AKJ RP VC1920