Those feminist-hating men (of the Save India Family Foundation) are going to have a field day with this one: Renuka Chowdhury wants to make the already-abused anti-dowry act even harsher.
If the proposal goes through, the stiff anti-dowry laws, which seek to protect brides against greedy husbands and in-laws, will extend the current seven-year window for registration of a “dowry death” case to lifetime — this means that an offence against the husband or in-laws can be made out at any point during married life.
The Women and Child Development Ministry is examining the recommendations of the National Commission for Women and is of the view that given a “rising trend of dowry cases”, there is need for stricter provisions and longer jail terms.
I don’t deny that this law has been misused against men, but think of how many more women have been harrassed and abused for dowry. I am not a lawyer and don’t know what the answer is in terms of writing a better law, but surely some law needs to be in place to protect these women. Given the state of the legal apparatus here, though, this is a tricky situation.
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