New Delhi /20 July 12:Violence against women for exercising their right
to choice in a relationship is on the increase throughout the country.
Governments must fulfill their responsibilities to protect women and
punish the perpetrators .Last year the media reported 139 cases in
Uttar Pradesh (UP) alone of violence against women for exercising
their right to choice in relationships . In 103 cases, either the woman
or her partner or both were killed. The perpetrators were family
members or rejected suitors. This scenario is not unique to UP but is
reflective of the situation in the entire country. Last month in the
capital, a Municipal Corporation of Delhi school teacher was allegedly
killed by her brother and mother for exercising her right to choice.
The Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI) a feminist legal advocacy group, based in Lucknow today released, “ The Legal Compendium,Judgments on the Right to Choice and Decision making in a Relationship”.This is a compilation of about 80 judgments of the Supreme Court and High
Courts which have upheld women’s right to choice in relationships and punished the perpetrators of violence
. These judgments were compiled in an effort to remind governments of their responsibilities to protect women who exercise their right to sexual autonomy. The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment in Lata Singh Vs State of UP , in 2006 directed the police and administration to ensure that if any boy or girl who is a major and undergoes inter-caste or inter-religious marriages are not harassed.It further directed the authorities to take action against those who subject them to threats or acts of violence.More recently , in 2011 in the case Arumugam Servai Vs State of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court further directed the State governments to suspend the District Magistrate /Collector and SSP/SPs of the district if they do not prevent or take action against “honor killings” . The compendium is also a documentation of the range of violence a woman faces when she exercises her right to enter or exit a relationship . The cases in the compendium demonstrates that women’s decision making in matters related to sexual autonomy is a “human rights issue”.
Renu Mishra from AALI said that protection and promotion of women’s right to choice in a relationship is central to the organization’s struggle for establishing women’s human rights.
Every year AALI intervenes in about 52 cases of right to choice . The organization expects to face opposition from the community but the real problem is when the police and the lower judiciary ignore and violate basic legal and constitutional provisions.The often heard refrain from the police and even judiciary is “Aukat se bahar ja kar kaam karoge toh yahi hoga” . To illustrate this point AALI screened a short video of an inter-religious marriage where the adult girl belonging to a Hindu family and whose father was a policeman was forced by the judicial magistrate to go back to her parents despite giving a statement that she did not want to live with her parents.
AALI also released a second publication “Control and Freedom: Women and the age of sexual decisions”.
This analyses the constitutional provisions and different laws impacting age of consent to sexual relationships. It also illustrates how the differential treatment when a girl below the age of consent exercises her right to choice and when families get girls below the age of consent married. The author of the research paper, Ms Geeta Ramaseshan an advocate at Madras High Court and a renowned human rights activist said “The publication addresses the complex area of right to choice of women and indicates how the criminal law is often used and misused to deny these rights.” The Chief Guest of the event Justice A.P. Shah (Retd) released the publications in the presence of members of civil society and press and addressed the gathering. He said that there is inherent bias against women in the police and some sections of the judiciary. He also said that
most families even in cities are reluctant to leave decision making to the women.
For any clarification and more information kindly contact on the number
given below.
Regards
Renu Mishra (09415037634)
Association for Advocacy and Legal Intiative (AALI)
The Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI) a feminist legal advocacy group, based in Lucknow today released, “ The Legal Compendium,Judgments on the Right to Choice and Decision making in a Relationship”.This is a compilation of about 80 judgments of the Supreme Court and High
Courts which have upheld women’s right to choice in relationships and punished the perpetrators of violence
. These judgments were compiled in an effort to remind governments of their responsibilities to protect women who exercise their right to sexual autonomy. The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment in Lata Singh Vs State of UP , in 2006 directed the police and administration to ensure that if any boy or girl who is a major and undergoes inter-caste or inter-religious marriages are not harassed.It further directed the authorities to take action against those who subject them to threats or acts of violence.More recently , in 2011 in the case Arumugam Servai Vs State of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court further directed the State governments to suspend the District Magistrate /Collector and SSP/SPs of the district if they do not prevent or take action against “honor killings” . The compendium is also a documentation of the range of violence a woman faces when she exercises her right to enter or exit a relationship . The cases in the compendium demonstrates that women’s decision making in matters related to sexual autonomy is a “human rights issue”.
Renu Mishra from AALI said that protection and promotion of women’s right to choice in a relationship is central to the organization’s struggle for establishing women’s human rights.
Every year AALI intervenes in about 52 cases of right to choice . The organization expects to face opposition from the community but the real problem is when the police and the lower judiciary ignore and violate basic legal and constitutional provisions.The often heard refrain from the police and even judiciary is “Aukat se bahar ja kar kaam karoge toh yahi hoga” . To illustrate this point AALI screened a short video of an inter-religious marriage where the adult girl belonging to a Hindu family and whose father was a policeman was forced by the judicial magistrate to go back to her parents despite giving a statement that she did not want to live with her parents.
AALI also released a second publication “Control and Freedom: Women and the age of sexual decisions”.
This analyses the constitutional provisions and different laws impacting age of consent to sexual relationships. It also illustrates how the differential treatment when a girl below the age of consent exercises her right to choice and when families get girls below the age of consent married. The author of the research paper, Ms Geeta Ramaseshan an advocate at Madras High Court and a renowned human rights activist said “The publication addresses the complex area of right to choice of women and indicates how the criminal law is often used and misused to deny these rights.” The Chief Guest of the event Justice A.P. Shah (Retd) released the publications in the presence of members of civil society and press and addressed the gathering. He said that there is inherent bias against women in the police and some sections of the judiciary. He also said that
most families even in cities are reluctant to leave decision making to the women.
For any clarification and more information kindly contact on the number
given below.
Regards
Renu Mishra (09415037634)
Association for Advocacy and Legal Intiative (AALI)
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