Express News Service By

HYDERABAD: CRISP is celebrating National Fathers’ Day at Jawahar Bal Bhavan on Sunday to take the cause forward and create awareness about joint custody and shared parenting. A signature campaign, which will be signed by 5,000 people across the country, will also be launched to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge him to pass unbiased laws to protect the interest of fathers.

“Indian law does not recognise violence against men as domestic violence,” Rukma Chary, an IT professional-turned-law student said.

Chary was accused of dowry harassment by his estranged wife. He alleges that there has been misuse of many sections of law by women. “Police does not think twice before acting on a case filed by a woman,” he said and added that the laws are biased towards them as they form 49 per cent of the vote bank.

In most cases, men face the brunt of laws that favour women and have lost their parental rights over children. Chary urged courts to think of a child’s future before granting divorce to a couple. “In most such cases, children turn out to be school dropouts, drug addicts, rapists and petty thieves,” he said.

President of Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting Kumar Jahgirdar is of the opinion that the society treats divorced fathers as an ATM machine. “There are thousands of fathers who are not allowed to see their children,” he said and added that parents should have equal access to their children.