NAGPUR: Men’s rights activists in the country are upset over a proposed amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act that would make the husband’s family responsible for the financial upkeep of a wife in case the husband has passed away or is disabled. If implemented, this amendment would be yet another law that leans towards women rather than being gender-neutral. This kind of laws promotes the jaded view about men being the providers of women, they say.

This reaction has come against the backdrop of a recent proposal by the Law Commission of India to law minister Sadananda Gowda . Our laws and judiciary are favouring women to show how liberal the society has become, but we are still sticking to patriarchal views to appease women, the activists believe. In fact, they call maintenance the highest kind of patriarchy, which springs from the belief that a woman cannot be self sufficient.

“While this new provision was thought about, the exceptions and individual situations weren’t given much thought, it seems. What about a woman in her 20s and earning a good salary for herself? Would it not be unfair to expect her to add on to the financial burden of her in-laws? What if a couple has been living away from the family or the marriage has been a short-lived one?” asked Rajesh Vakharia, president of NGO Save India Family Foundation (SIFF). He also asked why all experimentative marital laws are being added to the Hindu Marriage Act only and are not being implemented for all communities.

Speaking on similar lines, SIFF founder Anil Kumar said the problem has raised manifold now with women demanding unjustifiable sums of money in alimony. “They don’t ask for an amount that would help them live a comfortable life but ridiculous sums that are enough to make a middle class man bankrupt. The saddest thing is the courts in the country are also extremely patriarchal and don’t seem to take the changing gender roles in the contemporary society into consideration while giving a judgment,” he said.

For the last two decades, the women have challenged these roles not the men, he pointed out. “As men, we would also like to break free of the expectations rather than carry the onus and baggage that comes with the traditional gender roles. This is only about maintenance and alimony. We don’t want to seem like encouraging men to shy away from responsibility like child support. The government is also planning on introducing an amendment through which inheritable property of the husband to be transferred to the divorcee wife even in case of an amicable divorce,” said Kumar. He added such moves would only end up holding a progressive society back in medieval times.

DISCORD OVER MARITAL LAW

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED

Law commission has proposed introducing an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act under which in-laws should provide for a woman in case of man’s death or disability

WHY IS IT BEING OPPOSED

Based on the premise that husband is the provider and she can’t be financially independent

It favours women, instead of being gender-neutral, and is applicable only to Hindu Marriage Act

This is in opposition of the right to equality given by the Constitution

Specific situations wherein the in-laws can’t support the woman, a short-lived marriage or estrangement from family have not been considered

UNFAIR CHANGES PROPOSED IN HINDU MARRIAGE ACT

Another recent proposal of allowing divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage which too applies only to Hindu Marriage Act. It provides the wife the chance to oppose the divorce, but not the husband. It also gives her the right to a part of the inherited and inheritable property of the husband

