Woman shamed by villagers wins case

Nadia_H · September 18, 2003, 5:38pm

DON’T turn this into an India-vs-Pak issue. Please no one use her situation and pain as an excuse to score your brownie points against whomever.

Woman shamed by villagers wins case, BBC, 18 September 2003

A woman who fainted after villagers forced her to spend five hours on her knees, bowing up and down, has won redress from a court in southern India.

The High Court in Madras (Chennai) rebuked the members of a village council for imposing the punishment upon the married woman. The council decided to humiliate her after she demanded a divorce from her husband. Village councils have no legal right to issue punishments.

Suganthi, 32, sought to divorce her husband, an engineer.

After hearing the case, the village council ordered her to pay a fine of 50,000 rupees (roughly $1,000). Suganthi, an educated woman employed by the state-owned telecoms company, said she could not afford the fine.

She was then told that she could reduce the amount of money she owed by prostrating herself repeatedly before the village council.

After bowing up and down for more than five hours, the fine was reduced to 19,000 rupees - but by this time, Suganthi could bear it no more and passed out.

She eventually handed over the remaining amount of money, but refused to surrender custody of her children to her husband when asked to do so.

Suganthi then filed a petition asking the High Court to intervene in her case when her mother was threatened with expulsion from the village. The judge ordered the money be paid back.

Women’s rights groups say Suganthi’s case is particularly shocking, as it highlights how even educated women in Indian villages are not immune from misogyny and prejudice. They say the condition of illiterate women is far worse.

Gohan · September 18, 2003, 6:34pm

Truly pathetic :(

system · September 18, 2003, 6:40pm

The system works. Stupid rural mindsets will change over a period of time. Thank god for a system in place that can offer redress.

funguy · September 18, 2003, 6:44pm

Matsui, I hope you go thru the same punishment before system works for you.

system · September 18, 2003, 6:48pm

No one is saying that what happened is not despicable. But it is to the the benefit of a society in general that the legal progress address such atrocities. FDrankly what they did was against the LAW. That is the point. And the law won.

ch_and-be_ii · September 18, 2003, 6:50pm

Unbelievable!! It is disheartening to see that women are meted out such inhumane treatment even in this day and age.

Suganthi is an educated woman. She should have filed a case as soon as the village council asked for the money. Anyway, atleast she did it, there are some women who choose to suffer silently. Maybe it is because they lack the confidence(which in turn is due to the fact that they have been raised in a society which is male dominated) or they just don't want to make their personal issue a public one.

I only hope, there will be a day when women throughout the world will get the respect they deserve.

funguy · September 18, 2003, 6:56pm

Matsui, in defensive mode you are missing the point completely. Who gives a shiit about the law and the system?. The issue is that of the mentality of the villagers and people you are living amongst. Are they still living in stoneage or what?

system · September 18, 2003, 7:11pm

yes they are..They are living in the stone age. Thank god for the civil secular system that allowed this woman to address the problem. If she was a muslim gal, then the sharia based ordinances would have taken hold an she would have had no such redress. See, Asif's post in Rel under a thread titled with my name.

There are many such idiocies around the world. From cops arresting homosexuals in texas to stoning for adultery in the muslim lands. What is your point exactly? Unlike in India and the US, the laws can be made to change with the times and education of such laws is what is needed. Societies that are hogtied ot laws written in another millenia have no hope or methods of redress.

Who gives a **** about law and system? Are you for real? This is the mentality that lauds suicide bombers and terrorists. Get a clue...

karina · September 18, 2003, 9:23pm

Matsui, totally agree with your msg above - point to point yaara!

Women get acid thrown on them and don't get redressel. Women can't go to courts and ask for maintenance. I say get in one uniform law and uplift ALL women in India.

BabyGulabJaman · September 18, 2003, 9:43pm

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Matsui: *
yes they are..They are living in the stone age. Thank god for the civil secular system that allowed this woman to address the problem. If she was a muslim gal, then the sharia based ordinances would have taken hold an she would have had no such redress. See, Asif's post in Rel under a thread titled with my name.

There are many such idiocies around the world. From cops arresting homosexuals in texas to stoning for adultery in the muslim lands. What is your point exactly? Unlike in India and the US, the laws can be made to change with the times and education of such laws is what is needed. Societies that are hogtied ot laws written in another millenia have no hope or methods of redress.

Who gives a **** about law and system? Are you for real? This is the mentality that lauds suicide bombers and terrorists. Get a clue...
[/QUOTE]

same civil secular system that did nothing to prevent the killings of muslims in gujrat? that issue / problem is still unadressed by this same civil secular system of yours. some system it is. :)

karina · September 18, 2003, 9:58pm

^ are you so sure they aren't addressing it? Did you hear the SC's verdict against Modi? Do you read what the Indian media says? Did you know that a brand new lawyer has agreed to fight the Best Bakery case, not in Gujrat but in Bombay?

If you want to find only negative things about India (which is a great pasttime for Pakistanis) you can find hundreds of examples; but don't ignore the good ones.

larki_punjaban · September 18, 2003, 9:58pm

so sad :(

suroor_ca02 · September 18, 2003, 10:10pm

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
If you want to find only negative things about India (which is a great pasttime for Pakistanis) you can find hundreds of examples; but don't ignore the good ones.
[/QUOTE]

u seem to be doing the same thing chanda, finding things that are wrong in pakistan or Islam for that that matters. last I heard the so called secular India was banning the slaughter of cows ( aimed at muslim halal practice). where is the freedom of practicing ur own religion in secular country?

rvikz · September 18, 2003, 10:21pm

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by suroor_ca02: *

u seem to be doing the same thing chanda, finding things that are wrong in pakistan or Islam for that that matters. last I heard the so called secular India was banning the slaughter of cows ( aimed at muslim halal practice). where is the freedom of practicing ur own religion in secular country?
[/QUOTE]

do you really think man in the street cares the country to be certifed
by somebody it is secular? some of the people in both comunities
very intlorearant of each other regarding things like pigs,cows and music before mosque. silly things can trigger comunal riots.

karina · September 18, 2003, 10:52pm

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by suroor_ca02: *

u seem to be doing the same thing chanda, finding things that are wrong in pakistan or Islam for that that matters. last I heard the so called secular India was banning the slaughter of cows ( aimed at muslim halal practice). where is the freedom of practicing ur own religion in secular country?
[/QUOTE]

Tell me when I was poking my nose into Pakistan's affairs or religion without provocation. I don't believe in painting myself white by painting my neighbor black! And neither have I ever started a thread saying 'read all about it - the latest atrocity on shias or women in Pakistan'.

How many times have I asked 'pls give me a solution to my country's problems constructively' but all I got was a rehashed msg about how terrible India and hindus are.

As for slaughter of cows, you clearly believe in remembering only what the rumour mongers say. First of all the slaughter is still going on except in Gujrat. Second, if you scroll around you will find Asif's msg about India being the largest, or one of the largest exporters of beef, and muslims still eating beef like they did before.

Talk about making a mountain out a molehill!

Baba_G · September 19, 2003, 2:09am

Guys this is not about Gujrat or beef or modi and definitely not about Islam. it's a social issue.. let's keep the discussion relevant please.

Nadia_H · September 19, 2003, 5:12am

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Baba G: *
Guys this is not about Gujrat or beef or modi and definitely not about Islam. it's a social issue.. let's keep the discussion relevant please.
[/QUOTE]

Thank you.

jeez. It's becoming impossible to post anything without starting WWIII.

system · September 19, 2003, 2:20pm

^^ give it a rest Nadia withg the pontification. What was your point in posting the article> did you have a comment? something to discuss? or was it the usual half baked cut and paste nonsense.

Are you saying that one woman's plight is indicative of women's role in Indian society? Are yousaying that it is a caste issue? are you saying that women are not given equal access to the law/ Or are you saying that the Indian legal system works and is better than anything a religiously mandated system ever imagined could have prescribed. Because justice was served in the end. What exactly is your point.

funguy · September 19, 2003, 2:36pm

Matsui, I think you pretty much summed up all the points we are trying to rectify. Good analysis. Acknowledging your shortcomings is the first step to finding a solution. You are a true Hindian. :Indian Jhanda:

system · September 19, 2003, 2:45pm

You are trying to rectify? People who throw acid in the faces of women who are uncovered. Have laws with no flexibility, have a female population with access to education, work opportunities and contribution to the gdp lower than that of subsaharan africa, have not much grounds for rectification of a secular and pluralistic society. What is your solution? What best practices would you presrcibe?