The State Government has taken steps for the setting up of special courts for handling cases related to dowry harassment and attacks against women, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the assembly on Wednesday. The Advocate General has held discussions with the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, following which there was an in-principle agreement for the proposal.
In reply to a question from N.A. Nellikkunnu MLA, Mr. Vijayan said that 100 cases of deaths or suicides related to dowry harassment were reported in the state from 2011 to 2016, while 54 such cases were reported from 2016 to 2021. In the past two years, there were six cases each. The State Government is working towards a situation where not a single death is caused due to this reason, he said.
On Mr. Nellikkunnu’s comment that the situation in the state regarding women’s safety had gotten so worse that even the Governor had to observe a day-long fast to raise the issue, Mr. Vijayan said that the MLA is trying to misinterpret the intentions of the Governor’s fast, which was a Gandhian way of creating awareness in the society. The Governor himself had made this clear, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said that even educated persons are involved in the giving and taking of dowry, even though there are anti-dowry laws in existence. The society’s mindset as a whole needs to reach a state where every single person decides that they would not give or accept dowry. For this, steps like inclusion of lessons related to such laws in school textbooks to create awareness in the next generation, will be taken.
Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan said that the patriarchal society’s attitude to women who choose divorce also drives many women who face harassment to suicide. The State Government should be able to protect such women. He said that the police are often reluctant to register cases under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code in dowry death cases. Mr. Vijayan said that the police have been taking necessary steps in all such complaints, however if there are any specific cases such as this, action will be taken against the officers responsible.
