Article 2 Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence
Author(s): Malavika Karlekar

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 27 (Jul. 4-10, 1998), pp. 1741-1751
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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Domestic Violence
Malavika Karlekar
The ever-present fact of violence, both over and covert physical and non-physical has an overwhelming influence
on feminine identity formation. Using the life cycle approach this article argues that at every stage there is
discrimination and violence, particularly against girl children and later women within the household, either natal
or conjugal. With age, problems are compounded with increased dependency, illness and fatigue. Despite the
ubiquity of violence against women, both within the home and in public spaces, the celebration of individual
experiences has led to the emergence of alternative discourses where the 'truth' and validity of established
structures, norms and roles are called into question.
I finding of the latest (1993) World Deve- often caused by severe familial, social and
Definition of Violence lopmentReport pointed out that globally rape sexual abuse and trauma, as a part of the
and domestic violence account for about 5 PTSD syndrome.
THOUGH domestic violence is the specific per cent of the total disease burden among Quite apart from the silence around the
focus of the present paper, the growing women in the age group of 15-44. Over here, non-physical acts of aggression, there is
ubiquity of gender-specific violence in public disease covers physical as well as non- surprisingly little material available in the
spaces is evident from statistics and the physical ailments. It need hardly be pointed form of books, academic essays and papers
discourse on rape and sexual harassment at out that these figures possibly represent only on the entire issue of violence against women
the work place [V Das 1996; Flavia Agnes a fraction of actual violence-induced physical in India; despite the fact that a battery of
1993; Krishna Raj 1991; Pati 1991; PUDR and somatic disorders. statistics and reports made available by
1991; Samuel 1992; LSarkar 1994; TSarkar An overview of studies in a communication official sources and the media reinforce the
1991; Rajan 1993]. The sexual violation of paper circulated by Anveshi Research Centre view that this form of gendered violence is
women in times of political, communal and in Women's Studies in Hyderabad (1995) fast becoming a feature of daily living in
ethnic strife has led to innovative analyses shows that while there is no gender difference contemporary India it has yet to become a
based on archival research, life stories and in severe mental disorders such as priority area of research. Further, of what is
narrative techniques [Bhasin and Menon schizophrenia and manic depression, twice available, about halfrelates to violence within
[eds) 1994; Butalia 1993, 1997; Das (ed) as many women than men are afflicted with the family [Vyas et al 1996]. In Patricia
1990; Das and Nandy 1986; Menon and common mental disorders such as anxieties, Uberoi's opinion, this silence is explicable
Bhasin 1993; T Sarkar and U Butalia 1995], phobias and obsessive-compulsive by a certain hesitance in subjecting the family
encouraging an interrogation of established behaviour. The paper concluded that when and its intimate relationships to scrutiny; at
representations of major events such as mental illness has a biological basis, the the same time, if there is any data base on
partition and more recently, religious strife. prevalence was the same across genders; the nature and kind of violence that goes on
There is also some discussion of aberrant however"where mental illness has a psycho- behind locked doors, it is largely due to the
events such as sati (widow immolation), social basis, women are far more frequently activities of NGOs, those in the women's
witch-hunts, stripping and shaming of women ill than men" (ibid 2). In other words, there movement and the police.'
- particularly those from the lower castes, is a strong correlation between women's life Uberoi feels that though the "family is also
often as punishment for their community's situations and their mental and physical health a site of exploitation and violence . . .
transgressions [see Vyas et al 1996 for a [see also Davar 1995]. sociologists appear to eschew issues of social
comprehensive guide to material available]. There is also limited recognition of the fact pathology, at least in regard to the family"
Here I do not discuss these forms of that a physical act can result in a range of [Uberoi 1995:36]. This is because the family
violence, nor those pertaining to non-physical symptoms known generically as post- is .'a cultural ideal and a focus of identity",
forms ofagression: while it is well-established traumatic stress disorders [PTSD]. Evidence its inviolability as an institution reaffirmed
that psychological [Carstairs 1983; Ghadially proves that the impact of these disorders can by an environment which limits interaction
1987; Kakar 1983] and indeed symbolic often be far greater and last much longer than and discourse between the professional
[Bondurant 1965; Bourdieu 1977] the immediate act, catastrophic event or academic and the activist. The situation is
manifestations of violence are as widespread, violent abuse. A report on mental health compounded by the fact that familial concern
these are by and large, beyond the scope of worldwide [Desjarlais et al 1995] points out with propriety, honour ('izzat') and reputation
the present paper. Though the discussion on that PTSD is a 'persistent response', and one makes it difficult for those researchers
entitlements does touch upon attitudes and that can impede the functioning of some of interested in investigating violence within
stereotypes which result in denial and neglect, those exposed to the particular trauma. Here the home to gain access to those perceived
in the Indian context there is urgent need to it may be worth pointing out that in India as victims. Thus it is hardly coincidental that
spend far more time and resources on the it is socially and culturally accepted for a large percentage of available data on
mental health aspect of violence. This has women to be 'possessed' by malevolent violence against women locates the family
so far been an area largely neglected by spirits; elaborate procedures for exorcism - as a major cause of oppression and subsequent
government and police agencies, voluntary which are often violent in nature - bring into ill health and loss of identity. The Anveshi
organisations and researchers. In part the focus the woman or girl who as a victim of paper noted that all our analyses point to the
neglect can be explained by the overall social this particular affliction is entitled to behave fact that marriage and the family are necessary
attitude of suppressing - if not ignoring - in ways which violate conventional norms stressors in the cause of mental illness among
factors which reflect on the inner life of of appropriate conduct [see Kakar 1983 for Indian women [Anveshi:3-4]. Itthus becomes
individuals and families and cannot easily a discussion of feminine possessions]. It may necessary to pay attention to the violence of
be classified as an 'illness'. An alarming be possible to classify this state of possession, everyday life [Das 1997].
Economic and Political Weekly July 4, 1998 1741
Put simply, violence is an act of aggression, concepts which continue are by no means of women's activities and interpersonal
usually in interpersonal interaction or free of contradictions [A R Desai 1980]. relations, various facets of kinship provide
relations. It may also be aggression of an Relevant areas of concern relate to whether necessary cultural and social structural
individual woman against herself, such as the basic family unit is joint or nuclear in contexts" [Palriwala 1990:17]. In other
suicide, self-mutilation, negligence of structure [A R Desai 1980; I P Desai 1964; words, these contexts provide the ground,
ailments, sex determination tests, food denial Gore 1968; Shah 1964,1973, 1988] andhow so to speak, for a working out of family
and so on. Basically, then, violence brings to distinguish between the family and the ideologies around specific roles and
into question the concept of boundary household. These have a direct bearing on expectations.
maintenance [Nedelsky 1991] and a sense the status of women, not only in terms of There are, as Veena Das has commented
of self as well as perception of another's the number and quality of relationships to in the context of Punjabi kinship, certain
autonomy and identity. It implies that when which they have to adapt the distribution of moral rules which influence the trajectory
the body - and indeed the self- is vulnerable functions and roles but also on the allocation of individual lives [Das 1976]. It can be
to violation, individuals have a very different of resources. All these aspects can be and argued that these moral rules operate to
notion of "what is one's body and what is indeed are - areas for differences of opinion. maintain a certain gender-biased order
done to one's body" [Litke 1992]. Indian Clearly a joint or extended family imposes internal to families and kinship systems. In
scholars in women's studies have emphasised certain emotional and physical burdens on arguing that the family, more than the caste
the dynamics of power and powerlessness the daughter-in-law; at the same time it system, is responsible for reproducing
involved in a violent act. It is a coercive provides much-needed support in child inequalities within society, Andre Beteille
mechanism "to assert one's will over another, rearing and care [Gore 1968; Karlekar 1982; feels that entire families work towards
to prove or to feel a sense of power" Kasturi 1990]. "transmitting its cultural and social capital
[ibid: 174]. The fact that in most parts of India, women to its younger members, despite psychological
Given that violence is not limited to one enter as strangers into an already structured failures of many kinds" [Beteille 1995:440].
group, "it can be perpetuated by those in world of consanguineally-related men Clearly, moral rules of a family do operate
power against the powerless or by the generates its own tensions, and conflicts in with an eye to a shoring up on as well as
powerless in retaliation against coercion by loyalties and commitments. The exceptions acquisition of Bourdieuan capital; however,
others to deny their powerlessness" are castes such as the Tamil brahmins which what Beteille overlooks is that embedded in
[Poonacha 1990]. Going further, Govind practice cross-cousin and maternal uncle- this very process is a gender-based inequality.
Kelkar situates violence against women "in niece marriages. In fact, according to M S In looking at the role of the family in
the socio-economic and political context of Gore, the two main causes of strain in the socialisation, Beteille has glossed over the
power relations". She feels the view that it joint family is the evolution of a strong inequality that is often institutionalised
is "an act of illegal criminal use of force" conjugal relationship and "the difficulty of between the 'younger members'. Who shall
is inadequate and should include socialising the women members into have access to which scarce resource of
"exploitation, discrimination, upholding of developing a community outlook and a sense capital is determined by the gender as well
unequal economic and social structures, the of identity with the family groups" [Gore as age of the family member. As will be clear
creation of an atmosphere of terror, threat 1968:25]. In the present context it is soon, the girl child is often discriminated
or reprisal and forms of religio-cultural and particularly significant for an understanding against as families devise coping mechanisms
political violence" [Kelkar 1991: 1]. of the external dynamics of a group united on resource-sharing. This inequality is
This wide definition of violence finds on the basis of blood, and living together embedded in oppressive structures of a family
resonance in a hierarchical society based on with those from other families. It raises for ideology committed to an age and gender
exploitative gender relations. It often becomes instance, the question of whether, for any hierarchy which is worked out within a
a tool to socialise family members according analysis on women's status, the household household. However, there is a tendency to
to prescribed norms of behaviour within an or the family is more relevant. perceive domestic violence only in terms of
overall perspective of male dominance and There is no simple answerto this question, inter-spousal violence. In a study among
control. The family and its operational unit, particularly as "the very attempttodistinguish professionals - paediatricians, general
the household are the sites where oppression between family and household in India, if physicians and psychiatrists - dealing with
and deprivation of individual psyches and not elsewhere too, goes hand-in-hand with victims of domestic violence as well as a
physical selves are a part of the structures establishing a relationship between the two" sample of the victims themselves, researchers
of acquiescence; often enough, those being [Shah 1983:34]. By and large, households from the Delhi-based Multiple Action
'moulded' into an acceptance of submission "are task-oriented residence units" while Research Group (MARG) found that "by and
and denial are in-marrying women and families are "kinship groupings that need not large, there appeared to be no clear
Children. Physical violence, as well as less be localised" [Netting et al 1984:xx]. To put understanding of 'domestic violence'. Each
explicit forms of aggression are used as it somewhat simplistically, the household is case is treated symptomatically even if it
methods to ensure obedience. At every stage on view, it implies a physical structure, goods traced to violence in the family" [MARG
in the life cycle, the female body is both the and services held in common and a core 1996: 25]. Thus violence against children
object of desire and of control [Thapan, membership. On the other hand, the family and the aged were hardly perceived as
1997; Karlekar, forthcoming-al. As the focus is more amorphous, spread over time and instances of domestic violence; studies which
is on the household, the term 'domestic space, characterised by a "developmental speak of discrimination against the girl child
violence' is preferred to that of family process" [Shah 1983:4] in roles and or the old grandfather in food and nutrition
violence: the former helps focus on the relationships. A household is the operational would view this in terms of the physical
physical unit of the home rather than the unit which functions broadly within the impact of deprivation; rarely would it be
more amorphous context of the family, even parameters of a family and kinship ideology; regarded as an act of violence. Using the life
though the underlying world view may be this would include rules of marriage, cycle approach we argue that at every stage,
that of the larger familial and kin group. residence, property ownership, roles and there is discrimination and violence,
The Indian family, its forms, structure, functions determined according to age and particularly against girl children and later
functions and so on has been an important gender. As Rajni Palriwala writes "while the women within the household, either natal oir
area of study. Debates on definitions and household forms the grid for a major part conjugal. With age, problems are com-
1742 Economic and Political Weekly July 4, 1998
pounded with increased dependency, illness infanticide, arguing that how women control evidence that women often took the decision
and fatigue. Finally, it also suggests that their bodies and attitudes of their daughters on their own [Juneja 1993]. It is a moot point
despite the ubiquity of violence, micro studies are often the manifestation of a dominant whether mothers-to-be genuinely believed
may well point to the emergence of alternative ideology which valorises the male child. that girls were burdensome or whether they
discourses which question in many ways a While some studies have seen this were socialised into such a world view. Today,
dominant familial ideology. discrimination validated by economic there are clinics throughout the country and
II
functions [see Miller 1981 for an analysis "Gujarat topped the list with SD clinics
ofregionwise differences on son and daughter spreading even in small towns" [Ravindra
Violence in Natal Home
preferences in the context of their productive 1993]. Despite the efforts of women's
roles in the family], ethnographic studies organisations, voluntary groups and the media
FEMALE FOETICIDE AND INFANTICIDE
point to a far more deep-seated yearning for to the contrary, sex determination (SD) tests
A major gain from the women' s movement the male child, who among other things, are becoming increasingly common.
has been the emergence of a rich storehouse facilitates the passage of a Hindu to the next A far more pernicious manifestation of an
of information and data on women at every world. ideology which devalues girl children is the
stage of the life cycle, exposure of foeticide Female foeticide has become popular with recent resurgence of female infanticide. In
and infanticide being a case in point. While the spread of amniocentesis, a medical 1870, the British government in India
both these methods of dealing with unwanted technique evolved to discover birth defects. outlawed infanticide [see Kasturi 1994;
babies go back in historical time, of recent A part of the test involves establishing the Pakrasi 1970 and Panigrahi 1972 for
origin is the misuse of medical tests for sex of the foetus. Introduced in 1974 at a discussions of the historical practice], but
female foeticide and the incidence of leading government-run hospital in New over a century later, there are alarming reports
infanticide in parts of the country where it Delhi, the new technology was quickly of baby girls being murdered in areas where
was unknown. Apart from the medical issues appropriated by medical entrepreneurs. A the custom did not previously exist. In a
involved, there are important ethical questions spate of sex-selective abortions followed. study in the late 1970s, based on a study of
being raised: if abortions are legal, why are Though a series of government circulars historical records, Barbara Miller (1981) had
different standards applied to sex from 1977 onwards have banned the tests, noted that "female infanticide in 19th century
determination tests which may or may not "the privatisation and commercialisation of India was practised primarily in the higher
be used to influence sex-selective abortions? the technology" was well under way within social groups of the north, though this point
How can one combat the logic of those who a few years of its introduction [Mazumdar is debatable" (p 55). The author relates this
argue that it is better to avoid the suffering 1992]. practice to the control and distribution of
imposed on unwanted girl babies by not A case study from a hospital in a city in property and variations in the tradition of
allowing them to be born? [Padmanabhan western India conducted from June 1976 to dowry. Further, fieldwork and ana!ysis of
1993]. In a democratic society, why should June 1977 reveals that of the 700 women census data led her to conclude that there
the state interfere in the right of couples to who sought pre-natal sex determination, 250 was a distinct son-preference in the north,
decide whether they want girls or not? were found to have male foetuses and 450 related to inheritance patterns as well as to
This is particularly so in India where females. While all the male foetuses were sex-related work roles. Today, the growing
abortion (Medical Termination of Pregnancy kept to term, 430 of the 450 female foetuses number of incidents of female infanticide
or MTP) is a form of birth control actively were aborted [Ramanamma and Bambawale from the south fly in the face of well-argued
encouraged by the medical establishment. In 1980]. According to Kuntal Agarwal, the research results of social scientists who have
a well-argued article where she places the amniocentesis test and female foeticide have been concerned over these issues. What has
Indian debates around abortion and female been prevalent since 1977 but have become happened in the years between?
foeticide in a wider context of rights discourse, popular (only) since 1982 and thereafter The obvious answer readily proffered is
Nivedita Menon (1996) points out: small towns and cities are also experiencing the all-pervading menace of dowry and the
there is a profound philosophical incoherence
their effect [Agarwal 1988]. A field study concomitant negative attitudes towards girl
involved in arguing for abortion in terms of conducted by Sanjeev Kulkarni (1986) of the children. What is particularly disquieting is
the right of women to control their bodies Foundation for Research in Community the spread of dowry among communities
and at the same time demanding that women Health brought to light the fact that in the which practised bride price or bride wealth
be restricted by law from choosing 1980s, 5,000 amniocentesis tests were carried and where historically women had a high
specifically to abort female foetuses. It is out annually in Bombay for determining the status, such as, for instance, among the Mizos
essential that feminists should avoid being foetal sex. Eighty four per cent of the and the Kallars of Tamil Nadu. The obsessive
forced to counterpose the rights of (future) gynaecologists contacted by him admitted to hold of Sanskritisation is evident among the
women to be born against the rights of having performed the amniocentesis tests for prosperous sections of the Kallar community
(present) women to control over their bodies sex determination. Of these, 74 per cent had which is seen to "claim comparability with
(p 374). started performing the tests only since 1982 upper caste culture" [Vasanthi Devi 1991,
In other words, feminists and concerned and only a few cases of genetic defects were Mazumdar 1992]. Social sanction and
citizens have to acknowledge that in asking detected. The overwhelming majority of legitimisation of infanticide are surely
for women to have the right to control over 'patients', most of whom were of middle or important in communities where the poor
their bodies, they have also to accept the upper class status, came merely to obtain fear dowry and the rich, a fragmentation of
caveat that women themselves may work information about the sex of the foetus. property.
against future generations of their gender. Many women who came for the tests In a study of 12 villages of K V Kuppan
However, those who want to make a already had at least two daughters. Several Block, North Arcot, Ambedkar district of
distinction between a gender-neutral abortion clinics were run under the guise of maternity Tamil Nadu state which began in September
and those induced following sex-selective homes, clinical laboratories and family health 1986 and continued for 4 years, it was found
tests argue that the latter actively work against centres and costs ranged from Rs 70 to Rs that of a population "of 13,000 there were
equality and the right to life for girls. Keeping 600. Thirty per cent of the doctors believed a total of 773 births recorded, involving 759
this discussion in mind, the section looks at that their patients came to them under some live births of which 378 were male and 381
the violence of female foeticide and pressure. At the same time, there is also female. Further, among the cohort of live
born infants, 56 died in the period of two female infanticides had occurred in 1995 that they punished their children as against
and a half years and of these there were 23 showed that "the first female infant is, in a 83 per cent of the landowners; interestingly,
males and 33 females... of these deaths, 19 majority of cases not a victim of female both sets of fathers preferred physical
were confirmed infanticides (which were all infanticide", the second girl child would punishment. However, the reasons for
female infanticides )." The research further often escape and it was the third girl who punishment were different: while 72 per cent
indicated that the villages in which "female was invariably the victim. of the landowners punished the children for
infanticide occurred are less 'developed' in non-compliance with family norms and
ABUSED CHILD
terms of urban linkages, services and standards of discipline, for the landless, the
education than the non-infanticide villages" An area in which there is little available major concern was with unwillingness to
[George Sabu et al 1992]. research is that of child abuse within the work - for "when the child shirked work,
A recent study done by the Community home. This includes sexual aggression, he was given severe punishment" [ibid: 86].
Service Guild of Madras in collaboration beatings as well as extracting hours of labour It was also this category of children who
with Adithi, a Patna-based organisation for from children who should be in school or were injured more often in the course of
the development of rural women with a branch at play. Nonetheless, nearly all available punishment. Most parents, irrespective of
in Madras shows that in Salem district of studies have shown that children are victims theirbackground, felt that there were positive
Tamil Nadu, female infanticide is rampant of substantial abuse of a physical, consequences associated with beating. On
[Venkatachalam and Srinivasan 1993]. psychological and emotional nature [MARG the other hand, the study found that routinely
Though the study covered Christians, Hindus 1996]. In part, this abuse is caused by the abused children started hating their parents,
and Muslims, the practice of female life situation of families, where for instance, became more obstinate and a few even ran
infanticide was found only among the Hindus. children become part of the labour force due away from home.
Of the 1250 families in the sample - most to poverty; recent studies have shown that, In a 1980s study of 1000 victims of child
of whom were gounders and a few naickers, in absolute terms, child labour is on the abuse, A B Dave et al found that 81 per cent
vanniars and chettiars - covered by the study, increase, particularly for those who work as could be classified as victims of physical
606 had only one girl child and 111 admitted marginal workers. For girls the expansion abuse, 7 per cent of what the authors call
that they had done away with the unwanted has been dramatic in both rural as well as physical neglect, 9.3 per cent of sexual abuse
girl child. Equally alarming was the fact that urban areas [Chaudhuri 1996]. Neera Burra and 2.7 per cent of emotional abuse [Dave
476 respondents said that "they would have (1994) has divided child labour into four 1982]. None of these categories can be treated
to commit female infanticide when more categories - those who work in factories, as exclusive and it is important to note that
than one female child was born to them" workshops and mines, those who are bonded, studies of this kind are extremely difficult
[ibid: 26]. Most saidthat they had killed their street children and children who form part to undertake. This particularly so in the area
babies under pressure from their husbands: of the familial labour force. Working in of sexual relations where the overall attitude
"women said that sometimes the men would inhuman conditions often for a pittance, of secrecy and suppression which governs
beat them up insisting on the murder of new children are abused at work and within homes any discussion or reference to sex makes it
born daughters" [ibid:53]. where their earnings become the property of difficult to come to any definite conclusions
A detailed study of juvenile sex ratios and their parents. Not unexpectedly, then, child on the extent of sexual abuse of children.
data from primary health centres in Tamil labour has become an emotive issue resulting Yet, of the available figures, of almost 10,000
Nadu Chunkath and Athreya (1997) in a sense of moral outrage in the international reported rapes in 1990, an alarming 25 per
established two additional facts: analysis of community and the concomitant boycott of cent are of girl children below the age of 16,
juvenile sex ratios may lead to surprising products using this form of labour; however, and about a fifth are of those under ten. A
conclusions as well as provide the data for banning child labour is a simplistic response recent analysis done by the Crimes Against
a longitudinal assessement of the prevalence to a much deeper problem, which lies Women Cell, Delhi Police, points out that
of female infanticide. For instance, for the embedded in structures of power, availability of the 143 rape cases registered between
1991 Census, the three districts of of alternatives and schooling as well as the January and June 1992, 107 or almost 75
Dharmapuri, Salem and Madurai accounted overall immiseration of at least a third of the per cent were in the age range 7-18 years.
for 41 out of the 46 blocks in Tamil Nadu population. For those children who do not Forty of the rapists were immediate
with a juvenile female sex ratio of less than work for a wage but contribute to the family neighbours and seven were relatives.
900 to a 1000. Further, as is evident from workforce, leisure, education and anything Conversations with those in charge of the
a study of earlier census reports, this sharp remotely regarded as the rights of the child cell indicate that such cases are on the increase
decline is of fairly recent origin. The authors need to be defined keeping in mind the [personal communication 1997].
concluded that "this would be true of female cultural specificities of notions of childhood, Such alarming figures are indicative not
infanticide as well" (WS-22). Analysis of play, learning and consequently exploitation only of the sexual vulnerability of the girl
PHC data also corroborated this observation. and abuse. child in and around her home but also of a
Poverty, alcoholism among men, ignorance Apart from the physical burden of working social climate which encourages her violation.
of family planning and the cost of dowry are before the body is ready for it, children are In an interesting presentation on child rape
the possible causes of this practice and there often enough subjected to beatings and at a seminar on child rape organised by the
is scattered evidence to suggest that it is more lashings in a range of situations. Amarjit National Commission for Women in New
prevalent in other parts of India than is Mahajan and Madhurima (1995) have argued Delhi in October 1992, Sobha Srinath from
readily acknowledged. At the same time, that punishment per se does not constitute NIMHANS, Bangalore pointed to an
while instances of infanticide are indicative violence; however, when an act of punishment important, though perhaps little thought about
of negative attitudes towards girls, a certain involves substantial injury, it is no longer fact: a young child below ten need not always
caution needs to be exercised before legitimate punishment but violence against be aware that her sexual violation is in fact
extrapolating on the likely spread of this a defenceless child. In a study carried out qualitatively different from thrashing and
social malaise; it is also useful to keep in in a village in Haryana, 200 children in the abuse: it is only with the onset of puberty
mind Chunkath and Athreya's observations age group 7-14 years were interviewed. The that she becomes aware of her sexuality. In
that birth order also determines the fate of majority came from landless families, and fact, In an environment where physical
a girl child: analysis of household data where 97 per cent of fathers in this category said contact, both affectionate and abusive, by
relatives of both sexes is not uncommon, female child mortality is more common in money or from money given to buy articles
child rape needs to be viewed a little families which already have a daughter [Das for food consumption [Khan et al 1986]. In
differently from the rape of a post-pubertal Gupta 1987, 1995]. Rural health surveys in case of illness, it is usually boys who have
girl. north India show that women and girls are preference in health care [Chanana 1990;
Not unexpectedly, families rarely talk about ill more often than boys and men. At the same Das Gupta 1987; Desai and Krishnaraj 1987;
the rape of their young daughter; when the time a study of records at medical institutions Kanhere 1987; Mankekar 1985]. In fact, a
rapist is a father or a brother, the chances [Batliwala 1983] reported that there was study in rural Punjab established that there
of reporting is even lower. Members of only one woman user to every three men who were wider sex differentials in access to
voluntary organisations said that a mother use hospital facilities. medical care than in food allocation. More
would often suppress and wish away the Hospital records [Kynch and Sen 1983] was spent on clothing for boys than for girls
event, not only because of a sense of shame indicate a similar pattern of crises-related which had an effect on morbidity [Das Gupta
and outrage, but also out of fear of reprisals admissions. A recent study of 1,853 persons 1987]. Thus familial views on what should
from her husband, son or other relatives who came to a general health facility found be a girl' s expectations take precedence over
[NCW October 1992]. Interestingly, in that 193 (10.4 per cent) had psychological the right to a greater individual entitlement
1992-93, there were eight cases of rape problems. Most were women, in the age and on the whole, reinforce her growing
and molestation reported by mothers to group 16 to 45 years who had come to the sense of marginalisation, powerlessness as
the Crime Against Women Cell in Delhi; facility from a far greater distance than those well as vulnerability. Here again ethnographic
officials at the cell pointed out that this was with physical disorders. For a majority of studies would be useful in furthering an
a significant development as hardly any such this group, "the cause of stress lay in personal understanding of the dynamics of feminine
instances were reported earlier. At the same and family life" and specifically, for 10 per socialisation and patterns of oppression. For
time, wives expected the police to merely cent, marital and sexual reasons were the instance, apart from the usual indicators of
caution their husbands; filing a case against cause of distress [Murthy 1992]. It would caste, class, religion and so on, observations
them would be unheard of [Wadhwa 1993]. be fairly safe to hypothesise then that while from the field on availability of resources
Ifthere is a silence around the sexual violation a sizeable percentage of women's health and infrastructures such as PHCs, schools
of the girl child in the family, this is equally problems lie rooted in familial dynamics and and hospitals would show whether their
true of cases of sodomy and abuse of the male tension-ridden relationships, more often than existence appreciably influences girls' access
child. not they tend to get treated for physical to a better quality of life. Further, size of
disorders. family, differences of attitudes towards
INEQUALITY IN THE HOUSEHOLD
The fact that forms of discrimination in children on the basis of birth order, spacing
The prevalence of a dominant ideology food exists in uppercaste, middle class homes between siblings, age of the mother and so
which confines girls and women to definite as well indicates that factors other than on may also influence attitudes not only
roles and obligations leads to their devaluation scarcity are crucial. Further, when ill, the between boys and girls but between female
and discrimination in a range of areas. The latter are more likely to get treated, or if siblings as well.
basic assumption is that girls are inferior, women do get attention, much less is spent
III
physically and mentally weak, and above all on their ailments [Dandekar 1975]. In an
sexually vulnerable. In a society which lays analysis of state and district-level data, Sunita
Violence in the Conjugal Home
so much stress on purity and pollution, various Kishor found that "a critical manifestation" In India, marriage continues to be
oppressive structures - including early of discrimination against girl children "is the universally regarded as essential for a girl,
marriage - are encouraged so as to confine under-allocation of medicine and irrespective of class, caste, religion and
girl's and women's physical mobility. A food"(1995: 48). Making a distinction ethnicity. Control of her sexuality and its
declining sex ratio (929 women to 1000 men between survival rates and discrimination, safe transference into the hands ofthe husband
according to the Census of 1991] would she points out that while the former seems is of primary importance. Concern over the
suggest endemic female mortality and to rise with the socio-economic status of the conduct of the sexually vulnerable girl is an
morbidity [Agnihotri 1997; Deshpande 1991; household, there is not enough evidence to important causeof early marriage. According
Irudaya Rajan et al 1991; Mazumdar 1992; suggest that discrimination declines with to latest official figures, about 30 per cent
Reddy 1991] caused by consistent neglect higher status: observations from the field of women in the ages of 15-19 were married;
and sustained discrimination, both show that upper caste, upper middle class as the official age for marriage is 18 for girls,
manifestations of violence and oppression. families discriminate against girls in respect it is possible that a large percentage of these
In this context, the notions of expectations of the kinds of higher education they are to marriages were of under-age girls. Though
and entitlements are particularly important. have access to as well as in matters such as the age at mairiage is rising gradually, it is
An entitlement [Papanek 1990; Sen 1983, protein intake, games and extra- and co- important to note that girls are barely out of
1987] represents the right to a share of curricular activities [Karlekar 1987]. their teens when they leave their natal homes
resources such as health care, nutrition, Other data [Das Gupta 1987; Ranjana for another unknown residence. The
education and material assets as well as to Kumari et al 1990] indicate a definite bias exception is the familiarity characterising
parental attention and interest. The in feeding boys milk and milk products and cross-cousin marriages. Subsequent
distribution of these resources usually in eggs while both boys and girls have equal expectations and relationships impose a
keeping with a family ideology finds access to cereal and vegetables. Taboos considerable load on those who are as yet
expression in the household. Evidence associated with giving girls meat, fish and girls, ill-equipped to adjust to a totally new
indicates that girls and women are usually eggs which are regarded as heating are fairly environment and a set of unfamiliar
far less privileged than boys in access to widespread [Dube 1988; Kumari et al 1990]. relationships. For, in India, marriage
material resources [Basu 1989; Batliwala In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it was usual establishes a network of interacting
1983; Gopalan and Chatterjee 1985; Gulati for girls and women to eat less and usually individuals: it is rarely only a highly personal
1978; Ranjana Kumari 1989;Minocha 1984; after the men and boys had eaten [Kumari relationship between a man and a woman
Sen and Sen Gupta 1985]. However, these et al 1990]. Greater mobility outside the [see Das 1976 for a discussion of biradari].
often vary according to the birth order of the home provided boys with the opportunity to The persistence of a dominant family
girls, and it is often the case that excess eat sweets and fruit from saved-up pocket ideology which believes in a strict sexual
division of labour and an age and gender the hierarchy of senior or junior daughters- control" [Sharma 1984: 62]. Important for
hierarchy means that young wives have to in-law and so on. It is also often enough the later analysis is the communal aspect of
invest a considerable amount of time and case that intra-couple discord (which may dowry. Nor is it a one time transaction: ritual
energy in forging new relationships, not all later escalate into a dowry-related demand occasions, festivals and indeed any minor
of which are caring or accommodative. These and expectation syndrome) is over roles, pretext result in more demands being made
are to take precedence over all other their performance or otherwise, and a on the daughter-in-law's family.
relationships in the natal home. Nothing woman's quest for her identity. It is this In India, there is a tendency to club most
describes the transient nature of a girl's brief which distinguishes inanimate wealth/ marital violence under the overall heads
life in her parent's home or her inherent property from an animate being who may be of'dowry','dowry deaths' and'dowry
worth better than the north Indian saying that the reason or vehicle for transactions, but violence'. This categorisation glosses over
a girl is 'paraya dhan' or another's wealth. nonetheless resists being treated in the same the other causes of violence which pervade
It not only establishes the very notion of manner as a disposable commodity. That the familial context. However, to argue that
belonging but also that a girl is wealth (dhan) often enough she loses out is a symbol of dowry is not always the cause behind marital
which belongs ultimately elsewhere (paraya). the unequal power play within the home. discord is not to ignore the fact that it is one
Is wealth the same as property? What does An important part of the power relationshi p of the major factors responsible for domestic
the concept of women as wealth mean? It between spouses and indeed their families violence. While keeping this fact in mind it
can be argued that both property and wealth relates to dowry and its ramifications. In the is necessary to work towards a fuller
involve ownership, control and right of Indian context the preference for structural understanding of the institution of dowry
disposal. They also imply the capacity to asymmetry between the two families and the and its impact on inter-family relationships.
generate more assets, if properly utilised. consequent burden of gift-giving on the Madhu Kishwarfeels that oppression of wives
Clearly, such an understanding is more bride's family strengthens inequality. for bringing inadequate dowry is only another
comprehensible in the context of physical Anthropological studies, particularly of north excuse for using violence against them: in
goods and immovable assets and in the case Indian marriage and kinship patterns indicate other words - and in fact evidence from other
of human resources, it would also include that hypergamous unions establish a countries has indicated as much - even
intangibles such as skills, education, permanent asymmetry in gift-giving and without the additional 'attraction' of dowry,
reputation and physical attributes. In marriage prestations. Here the notion of property in interspousal violence is endemic. She has
traditions for most of India, "the bride is a marriage acquires another meaning: not only also pointed out that dowry payments in
vehicle for the passage of valuables from her is the in-marrying girl viewed as the property themselves do not transformgirls into burdens
own kin to that of her husband' [Hirschon of her husband if not of the conjugal family, but rather "dowry makes daughters 'burden-
1984:11 ]. The unequal nature of the marital but also the event marks the unequal flow some' only because daughters are unwanted
relationship sanctified by significant gift of goods and even property between the two to begin with" [Kishwar 1986]. For instance,
exchanges, rituals and expectations - kin groups [Dumont 1975; Goody and middle class parents who save to pay lakhs
establishes the parameters of subsequent Tambiah 1973; Madan 1989[1965]; Sharma as capitation fees for sons in medical or
intra-familial behaviour patterns. 1984; Stri Kriti Samiti 1984; Patnaik and engineering colleges do not view them as
Based on her field data from Papua New Sadaul 1988; Ranjana Kumari 1989; Uberoi burdensome; but similar sums set aside for
Guinea, anthropologist Marilyn Strathern 1995; Vatuk 1975; Verghese 1980]. Based daughters' marriage are regarded differently.
has argued, "if women are passed between on her fieldwork in north India, Ursula Though it is difficult to be categorical on
groups of men, equated with the wealth that Sharma has argued persuasively that dowry, the background of those either harassed or
flows between them, then they must be treated or what the bride's family gi ves to the groom's killed for dowry, it is clearly a phenomenon
as objects themselves. As objects they must family at the time of hypergamous marriages on the increase among all social categories.
be a form of property..." [Strathern 1988: is "a concrete form of property in which In a study of dowry victims in Delhi, Ranjana
163]. But she asks, what about their members of the household, both men and Kumari commented that "dowry has become
personhood, the capacity of women to assert women, have different kinds of interest and inseparably interlinked with the general status
their identities? She points out that "the over which they have different kinds of of women in our society". Her study shows
definition of personhood is not tied up with
the manipulation of things" [ibid:144].
Strathern's position is worth taking note of
in the context of not only dowry but the
present day ramifications of the system,
JHUSI, ALLAHABAD-211 019
namely, the violence and even physical
annihilation associated with this form of gift- ICSSR Doctoral Fellowships 1998-99
Applications are invited for the award of ICSSFRDoctoral Fellowships in social
giving. The very notions of personhood and science subjects of Sociology, Human Geography, Social Psychology and
identity are under threat from familial power Economics for the year 1998-99.
ELIGIBILITY
structures where the in-marrying woman's
1. Post-graduation in social sciences with at least 55 per cent marks.
sense of self is constantly assailed. Of course, 2. Must have cleared NET for Junior Research Fellowship of UGC/CSIR.
with age and gain in status within the family 3. Employed persons can apply under the Salary Protection Scheme which is
for two years.
as the motherof sons and ultimately, a mother-
AGE - The upper age limit for JRF is 35 years as on 1.1.98 (Relaxable by 5 years
in-law, a distinct identity emerges. In fact, for SC/ST and women candidates).
it is an identity which is often linked to LAST DATE - The last date for the receipt of application form is 30 August, 1998.
VALUE OF FELLOWSHIP
oppression of new female entrants to the
A. Fellowship amount (pre-revised) is Rs. 2,500/- for the first two years and
family. subsequently Rs. 2,800/- per month plus Rs. 2,500/- per year as contingency
Within this framework of matrimony, many grant. Fellowship is for a maximum period of 4 years.
APPLICATION FORMS
women attempt to negotiate space for Further details and application forms can be obtained personally or by sending
themselves, to assert their personhood. The self-addressed stamped Rs. 12/- envelope (25.5 x 20.5 cm) to Registrar, G.B.
capacity to do so is dependent on a range Pant Social Science Institute, Jhusi, Allahabad-211 019. Sanjeev Kumar
of factors - age, maternal status, position in Registrar
that in a sample of 150 dowry victims, one- Thus wife abuse, a practice shared with concluded that it was only if the beatings
fourth were murdered or driven to commit many other cultures, acquires a different were very severe did women perceive of
suicide, and more than half, i e, 61.3 per cent connotation in Indian society due to the themselves as being abused: the odd slap or
were thrown out of their husband's house institution of dowry. Here, the term 'abuse' blow was regarded as routine husband-like
after a long drawn period of harassment and includes physical as well as non-physical behaviour. There was wide societal tolerance
torture. Dowry-related killings followed two acts. There is enough evidence to suggest for wife-abuse, which was even considered
patterns. First, the young brides were either that it often receives enough wider familial justifiable under certain circumstances:
murdered or forced to commit suicide (18.4 sanction. It is institutionalised in various "disputes over dowries, a wife's sexual
per cent) when their parents refused to forms which range from inhumanly long infidelities, her neglect of household duties,
concede to continuing demands for dowry. hours of labour, often within and outside the and her disobedience of her husband's
Second, the murders were committed also home, food denial, neglect of ailments, verbal dictates are all considered legitimate cause
on the pretext of complex family relations'. abuse by affines to physical violence by the for wife-beating" [ibid: 1 ]. Observations
Extra-marital relationships were alleged in husband and sometimes other family during field work for the project on domestic
52.6 per cent cases of death. It was also members. In this context, it is interesting to violence also confirmed a high degree of
discovered that the conflicts intensified note the growing number of cases being acceptance of male violence: it was only
because of the refusal by young brides to registered under section 498A of the Indian when the torture became unbearable or death
yield to overtures made by father-in-law, Penal Code [IPC 1983] which indicts a appeared imminent that most Women
uncle-in-law or brother-in-law. There were husband or relative of the husband for cruelty appeared willing to speak out [Karlekar et
also cases where wives alleged that the against a wife. For instance, all-India police al 1995, forthcoming (b)].
husband was impotent. data under this head which is available from In a detailed discussion of wife abuse,
In 69.3 per cent cases, parents sent their 1989 onwards records a steady increase: Flavia Agnes has rebutted convincingly the
daughters back to the husbands while being from 11,803 cases registered in 1989 it went popular myths which surround the
fully aware of the torment they were up to 15,949 or by 37.5 per cent in 1992. phenomenon of wife beating in India such
undergoing. Of these, 77.9 per cent returned As entire families and indeed the state become as middle class women do not get beaten,
only to be deserted and 11.5 per cent to be involved in the ramifications of inter-spousal the victim of violence is a small, fragile,
murdered. In 72 per cent of cases, "parents disputes, the incidence of these 'events helpless woman belonging to the working
were more willing to put thousands of rupees continue to spiral upwards, occasionally with class, thewife-beater is aman who is frustrated
in the hands of a man who tortured their macabre outcomes: personal communications in his job, an alcoholic, or a paranoid person,
daughters than to spend even a fraction (10 with police officials indicated that the aggressive in his relationships. Nor was it
per cent) of the dowry to train the girl to unnatural deaths of wives was on the increase true that so-called loving husbands did not
survive independently", because they did each year. beat their wives or that women provoke men
not consider independent survival of women Wife-beating - or in more extreme cases, to beat them. Yet, many of these myths seem
as respectable. Ranjana Kumari also found wife battering - is the most common form to pervade the analysis of wife-beating and
dowry giving and taking to be universal of abuse worldwide irrespective of class, feminine expectations in Indian society.
across caste, religion and income groups. religion, community and in the case of India, For instance, based on an analysis of cases
However, she observed that "while desertion caste backgrounds [Abraham 1995; Bogard which had come to the Delhi-based women's
and harassment cases are more among 1988; Chen 1992a; Cheung and Law 1990; organisation, Saheli it was evident that wife-
higher income groups, middle income Dong Xing 1995; Finklehor 1983; Gelles beating was common among all social classes
groups show higher dowry death rates". She 1980; Gelles and Loseke 1993; Hoff 1990; as it "is a reflection of the power relationship
also found that only 5 per cent of marriages Jahan 1994; KWDI 1990; Straus 1980; between a husband and wife", which mirrors
were love marriages while 11 per cent were Walker 1983 forextended discussions on the a woman's secondary social status [Saheli
inter-caste. The rest had married according issue in other parts of the world]. In India, 1988:1]. However, the pattern of violence
to the prevailing social norms ofarranged' studies have correlated childhood abuse, differs from one class to another, with the
matches [Ranjana Kumari 1989, 88-91; see alcoholism, unemployment and poverty with 'whole neighbourhood being witness when
also Mahajan and Madhurima 1995; Sinha the growth of this malaise [Ahuja 1987; a slum-dwellerbeats his wife to the extremely
1989]. Kaushik 1990; Mahajan and Madhurima private nature of a middle class professional's
There is no satisfactory explanation of 1995; Sinha 1988; Sood 1990]. It has also physical oppression of his spouse.
why the system of dowry is growing and been argued that it is not only a woman's Like child rape within the family, another
indeed spreading to communities where it dependence which makes her particularly area about which universally little is known
did not exist. Nonetheless, its role in vulnerable: a wife in a high-status job may and hardly discussed, is that of marital rape:
perpetuating violence within the home is be beaten more than her unemployed in India, despite some thinking along these
substantial. Of particular relevance is the neighbour [Pawar 1988]. Battered women lines by feminists and legal experts, there has
fact that dissatisfaction over dowry payments are presented as lacking in self-esteem and as yet been no amendment in law to include
and subsequent prestations result in abuse self-confidence and are apathetic and nervous rape within marriage. The only exception is
of the wife not only by her husband but by [Kaushik 1990]. if the wife is below 16 years of age. Though
other affines as well. Dissatisfaction over In an interesting study of the impact of figures on marital rape as well as other
dowry is not the only reason for ill-treatment wife-beating on the women themselves as sexually demeaning and violent acts are
of married women. Apart from ill-health and well as on other members of the family, difficult to obtain discussions2 with
stress, a violent home environment can lead Vijayendra Rao (1995) found that in three counsellors working with abused women
to a total psychological remoulding such as multi-caste villages in the southern state of indicated that a very large per cent of their
theinternalisation of deception, manipulative Karnataka, only 22 per cent women claimed clients were tortured with forced sexual
techniques and feigning. It can also lead to to have been abused by their husbands. In intercourse.
anticipation and provocation, a macabre fact, during field work, two women were hit Feminine socialisation which stresses
expectation of the inevitable [see Flavia by their husbands; but, in response to a docility, compliance and shame predisposes
Agnes 1988 and Kakar 1990 for perceptive question, the very same women did not say a wife to accept a range of physical behaviour
interpretations of inter-spousal violence], that they had been abused. The researcher from her spouse, where, without doubt, her
sexual satisfaction is of little consequence. to the authorities through a third party" marginalisation, social as well as physical,
On the basis of her field work among upper [ibid: 106]. was usual and the widow remains highly
middle class and middle class women in While in India, institutionalisation of the vulnerable to neglect resulting in poor health
Delhi, all of whom had had so-called 'love' elderlyis virtually unknown, there is evidence and high mortality rates [Chen and Dreze
marriages, Meenakshi Thapan concludes that that households are increasingly disinclined 1995:283]. Importantly, the widow who
notions of the perfect female body and of to invest scarce resources on those whom headed her own household which included
femininity were imbued by the women; they feel will have little to contribute to a an adult son had the lowest mortality risk.
consequently, women were often complicit family's success and mobility (personal Extrapolating fromthis data, we can conclude
in the mechanisms ofoppression, particularly observations during fieldwork for various that food discrimination, inadequate health
with those aspects which dealt with physical projects on the position of women in India). care, lack of living space, excessive
and sexual attractiveness [Thapan 1997]. A report brought out by the women's expectations as far as the domestic work is
However, that such psychological and organisation, Karmika (quoted in MARG: concerned make the widow's situation
physical oppression which leads to this 'false 18-19] characterised the habitual scolding, extremely tenuous. When these are combined
consciousness' [Agarwal 1997] can equally -nagging, non-communication as well as with lack of access to property and assets
develop into a site for resistance - a point feigned ignorance about their needs and it is not difficult to envisage the overall
which is not addressed by Thapan - is ailments as informal violence; this form of situation of denial and deprivation.
discussed later. It would not be too extreme violence, argued the report, could be some- Increase in domestic workload, loss of
to hypothesise that much male physical times worse than physical injury [ibid:18]. self-respect as well as tendency to neuroses
violence in marriage is related to sexual In a study of 749 elderly working class was observed in a study of 350 widows in
activity: detailed interviews and discussions persons in the districts of Haryaia of whom Haryana which also found that most felt that
at the women's shelter of battered women3 369 were men above 60 years of age and 380 survival and accommodation were major
quite often led to admission of sexual women above 55, Mahajan and Madhurima problems [Sandhya 1994]. In a study which
excesses; when a woman resisted, she was found that over 30 per cent of all respondents probed into the entire question of violence
beaten. Or ifshe did not satisfy her husband's admitted that quite often or sometimes they against widows, Mukesh Ahuja (l 996) found
demands (which could quite often be perverse were abused by family members [ibid: 120]. that of the 190 widows interviewed in Jaipur
in nature) the outcome was physical abuse. Further enquiries indicated that inability to city, the most common complaint was that
It is indeed ironical that for long, the family, work, lack of finances and failing health of verbal abuse from their in-laws; such
viewed as an individual's ballast against the accounted for ill-treatment. Interestingly, the behaviour ranged from sarcastic comments,
world becomes the arena for legitimate level of satisfaction among women was higher scolding, shouting and humiliating remarks
physical and mental oppression of women; than among men. Aging siblings, some of in the presence of others. A large per cent
while the legal and police systems have, after whom may or may not have married, old said that they had been denied access to their
1975 become more receptive to certain couples who have to rely on one another and husbands' assets. While 12.5 per cent said
excesses, yet much remains unstated, invisible destitutes are other categories of the elderly that they had been physically beaten by their
and repressed. about whom very little is known. in-laws, another 15 per cent said that their
The position of the aged in rural areas and children too were beaten and ill-treated [ibid:
IV
in chronic poverty situations is a much 88]. However, of the 29 women who had
Aging Person within the Home neglected area of study, village studies being grown children, 14 reported abusive beha-
With a fall in the death rate, there is a no exception. During a recent field trip to viour by their sons and daughters-in-law.
growing number of aging people in families households suffering from severe food Sexual vulnerability of the widow is a
and households. In a recent demographic shortages in Madhya Pradesh, Veena Das prevalent though little discussed and
study of the aged, Kumudini Dandekar has encountered two very old women who existed acknowledged fact of their existence. Twenty-
concluded that in a rural population of about on the margins of society: as widows and six of Ahuja's respondents said that they had
640 million, about 45 million or 7 per cent destitutes, they did not figure in the discourse been victims of sexual attacks; well over 60
are above sixty; half of this population is of policy-makers and were paid scant attention per cent said that the assailants had been
poor and at least 10 per cent (2.25 per cent) by the villagers. She concludes that the over- affines while the rest had been molested by
are helpless and in the category of requiring preponderant emphasis on the married neighbours, employers or friends' bothers
financial support [Dandekar 1996]. While woman in the reproductive cycle has led [ibid: 93]. A woman's physical and 3exual
there is little information on attitudes and almost to an effacement of other categories vulnerability is accentuated in times of social
behaviour of younger family members such as the elderly, the never married and and political stress, communal disturbances
towards the elderly, a few studies have disabled [Das 1997]. In fact, before the being a case in point. Recounting their
established that a situation of dependency declaration of the Year of the Girl Child a experiences at a centre at Tilak Vihar in west
on the younger generation results in neglect few years ago, not too much was known Delhi, activists spoke poignantly of the 60
and in some cases, ill-treatment and different about female children. young Sikh widows they were trying to
forms of violence against older people, in Irrespective of their geographic location, rehabilitate after the holocaust of November
particular women. For instance, neglect of little is known about the treatment and neglect 1984, following the assassination of prime
ailments by family members which is often of the elderly who have lost their spouses. minister Indira Gandhi. The typical familial
quite common, is extremely demoralising A recent study of widows established that response of 'settling' the widow was to
for the aged [Shankardass 1997]. - of the poor in India, widowed women are marry her to a brother-in-law, in itself an old
Researchers in the west have tried to make in all likelihood the most disadvantaged, practice. The results were often disastrous
a distinction between active and passive both socially and economically [HIID- as "very few have been able to resist the
neglect; others have viewed neglect and abuse WIDER Workshop 1992: 1]. Not only do onslaught of these cruel societal norms"
differently [Mahajan and Madhurima 1995: widows and their lot slip through the net in [Srivastava 1989: 65].
105 ff]. Reluctance to speak of their trauma discussions on poverty, but also little is Those women who had the courage to
and a concern with the family's reputation known about their treatment within families. resist faced social and familial ostracism as
or izzat coupled with a dependence on others In a study of north Indian widows, Marty well as "drunken beating and exploitation
has meiant that "elder abuse becomes known Chen and Jean Dreze observed that or worse at the hands of their men" [ibid:
65]. Prostitution was encouraged by affines not only enhance the data base on various 1 The world over, official police data, in particular,
statistics, deal with crime rather than with the
even as the women were trying to piece their phases in the female life cycle but would also
much more pervasive phenomenon of violence.
lives together. Thus, despite the will to help in gauging the voices of resistance. In
One reason for this variance is that the police
survive, "the stringent codes of conduct of a recent paper Bina Agarwal has questioned data on crime are based on complaints and
Indian society crushes them again into the so-called 'false consciousness' of women
cases registered which in turn depend on (a)
keeping the family's interest and name and which in effect makes them complicit in willingness to report, and (b) police receptivity
fame above their own and their children's perpetuating their unequal position [Agarwal to acts as crimes against women as well as its
hope for abetter life" [ibid: 64]. Clearly then, 1997: 24]. She argues that there is empirical inclination to investigate these. It would not
be an exaggeration to state that crime figures
widowhood exposes a woman to new forms evidence which points to the contrary:
are merely the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
and networks of exploitation and violence. participant observation by field workers have 2 Some cases have been discussed in 'Violence
At the same time, it would be fairly safe to drawn attention to everyday resistances to against Women - Domestic Violence'. On the
hypothesise that as a large percentage are intra-household inequalities. Whether it is basis of the study a workshop was held in 1995
widows and the infirm, their overall status the covert activities of Bangladeshi and its report entitled 'No Safe Spaces - Report
is likely to be low and prone to violence, housewives who find innovative ways of of a Workshop on Violence against Women' by
Malavika Karlekar et al was circulated.
both physical and emotional. hiding a part of their earnings [ibid: 24], the
3 See Chapter Three of report on domestic violence.
systematic putting away of a measure of
V
grain by village women in Bankura district References
Conclusion
of West Bengal or the uninhibited account
Abraham, Margaret (1995): 'Ethinicity, Gender
The ever-present fact of violence, both of a battered wife narrated to a police official, and Marital Violence: South Asian Women's
overt and covert, physical and non-physical women are finding ways of challenging the Organizations in the United States', Gender
has an overwhelming influence on feminine established familial hierarchy based on male and Society 9(4): 550-68.
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observations]. Relations: Within and Beyond the Household',
is greatly dependent on how others think,
Feminist Economics 3(1): 1-51.
feel and behave towards her. This Despite the ubiquity of violence against
Agarwal, Kuntal (1988): 'Survival of Females in
fundamental difference in identity formation women, both within the home and in public India', paper presented at International
between the sexes has deep roots in spaces, the celebration of individual Conference of Women, Development and
socialisation processes, resource allocation experiences has led to the emergence of Health, Michigan State University, Michigan.
within families, the impact of external alternative discourses where the 'truth' and Agnihotri, Satish Balram (1997): 'Unpacking
influences such as mass media, pornography, validity of established structures, norms and Juvenile Sex Ratios in India', paper presented
at a UNICEF-UNIFEM-UNDP-SDCConference
and of course the educational system. While rolesr are called into question. In order to do
on Ending Violence against Women and Girls in
identity, notions of self, roles and obligations so it is necessary to see the family and its South Asia, Kathmandu, October 21-24.
are worked out fairly early in a woman's life, individual members in an emerging context Ahuja, Mukesh(1996): Widows-RoleAdjustment
no stage is without change and questioning. with many players in the field: an interface and Violence, Wishwa Prakashan, New Delhi.
Thus feminine identity and a woman's between them, the State, the law and the Ahuja, R (1987): Crimes against Women, Rawat
position within the family continues to be women's movement becomes increasingly Publication, Jaipur.
Anveshi (1995): 'Women in India and theirMental
open to modification, depending on her relevant [see Flavia Agnes 1995; Gandhi and
Health', Communication paper.
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Uberoi (ed), Family, Kinship and Marriage
There is clearly much more that needs to on unity and patriarchal dominance in a in India: 435-51.
be understood about the Indian family and manner which does not valorise victimhood
Batliwala, S (1983): 'Women in Poverty: The
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Domestic Violence

Author(s): Malavika Karlekar

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