Is the time ripe for constitution of a commission to look into crime against men in society? “Yes,” says Andhra Pradesh Mahila Commission Chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Ms. Rajakumari said the series of incidents wherein women were found to be involved in killing their spouses in connivance with their paramour were very ‘disturbing’ and called for constitution of ‘Men’s Commission’ to protect their interests. She said she would take up the issue with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
‘TV serials a negative influence’
The Chaiperson said daily soaps aired by television channels that depicted women in negative shades were the main culprit. “I firmly believe that such serials are not only in bad taste but they have a strong influence on people in society. They show women resorting to conspiracies and killings at the drop of a hat. This sends a negative message and we now see similar crimes reflecting in our society,” she said.
She said these serials were inducing cruelty in women. “If this continues, we may need an exclusive commission to protect men,” she said.
Referring to the recent incidents in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Guntur where young married women turned killers of their husbands in connivance with their paramours, she said laws should be made stronger and people in the neighbourhood also should respond to such situations.
“Such criminal attitude of women is not good for society,” she said with concern.
“I have always opposed violence against women. If a woman is sexually assaulted or gets beaten up, she has the right to defend herself. I have similar sympathy for men who are being targeted by women in illicit relationships with other men. I will stand by them and seek justice for them,” she said emphatically.
She said a year back, she had written to the then Union Minister Smriti Irani with a request to implement censor cuts to TV serials that projected a negative message. “I got a reply saying that censor can be applied only to cinema and not TV serials,” she informed, adding: “they can always introduce one now. I will write again to the Minister,” she said.
