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Because his wife was winning against him in online Ludo, this Vadodara man broke his wife's spine while beating her up in a rush of rage, says a report.
Because his wife was winning against him in online Ludo, this Vadodara man broke his wife’s spine while beating her up in a rush of rage, says a report.
Would winning against your husband in an online game of Ludo land you with a broken spine? Apparently yes.
According to recent media reports, a husband-wife couple, in Vadodara city of Gujarat, decided to play the online game of Ludo instead of getting bored during the lockdown. The wife defeated him several times and this irritated the man. The man got into an argument with the wife and in a fit of rage he started thrashing her. Severely injured, she had to be rushed to a hospital where it was detected that her spine had a gap between two vertebrae.
After receiving treatment the woman went to her parents’ home for recuperation.
What is really shocking (or not really) is that the woman refused to file a case against her abusive husband even though the counsellors from a woman helpline advised her to do that.
The police took an undertaking from the man after he apologized to his wife and let him go scot free. The woman also agreed to return to his home after a few days.
What makes a woman forgive an abusive and egoistic husband?
Lack of family support, fear of having to fend for themselves financially, social stigma of being an abandoned woman and difficulties in raising children single handedly may prevent a woman from filing a case against an abusive, violent husband/partner and compel them to go back to their marital home even in the face of recurring violence.
But don’t the same fears embolden a man further? Would it be the new normal, post-lockdown?
Men tend to take down their frustrations on women for all kinds of excuses. They could range from job pressures, physical or financial insecurities, refusal to sex, alcohol and drug addiction to a not-so-well-cooked meal or even delay in serving food. They abuse their women to relieve their frustrations and also beat them into compliance.
But is this a new normal for them-this brazen display of brute masculine power over losing a petty game of Ludo so that the man broke his wife’s spine? Is a man’s ego so fragile that it gets hurt over such minuscule loss to a ‘mere’ woman? How dare she defeat her husband?! He’s her pati parmeshwar, you know!
There has been a horrifying global surge in cases of violence against women and girls during the lockdown period. So much so that on April 6th, the UN chief had to call for immediate measures to address this menace.
Situation in India is not any better.
According to the National Commission for Women, the number of complaints of domestic violence have almost doubled during the first 25 days of lockdown (till April 16) in comparison to pre-lockdown period.
To deal with the increasing number of domestic violence cases, the NCW had to launch an emergency Whatsapp number 7217735372 in addition to its already operational email and phone numbers.
Even the Delhi High Court, on April 18, has asked the Central govt and Delhi govt to devise measures to curb the increase in such crimes and protect the victims of intimate partner violence.
The lockdown has made it mandatory for both men and women to stay indoors, still the onus of house chores, looking after family and children has fallen majorly on the women, in addition to their own jobs. Despite women undertaking a major share of work silently, they are the ones bearing the brunt of men’s anger and ego issues.
How many more women may still be suffering in silence, we may never know. For all we know, women have always been under a lockdown by the men.
Image source: pixabay
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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