A protest against ‘laws favouring women’ at the Sector 17 Plaza, Chandigarh, on Sunday

CHANDIGARH: Should law be equal for all or should it lean towards empowering women? This was the question that rang loud at the Sector 17 Plaza on Sunday evening.

Claiming that they had been falsely accused of crimes like dowry harassment, rape, domestic violence and workplace harassment, a group of people gathered at the Plaza to demand equal gender rights. They had selected an apt day for the gathering, International Men’s Day .

Organized by Save Indian Family, a trust that has been working in the city for three years, men at the event shared how they were made victims by way of laws that “favour women”. A member of the trust, Maninder Singh , said there was a separate ministry for the welfare of women in the country and more than 10,000 NGOs were working for their welfare, but there was hardly anything for men. “Everybody comes forward for women, but no one comes forward for men,” he said. “We are here to educate and create awareness among citizens about the discrimination faced by men in day-to-day life.”

People at the gathering claimed that they had been falsely implicated in cases. One such protester, Rajeev Kapur , said his son had been booked falsely in a dowry case. “We have been harassed unnecessarily. We feel good here with these guys, as they suggest and help us in many ways,” he said. Members of the trust claimed that women had been misusing law and though women were not always the victims, laws made it hard for men to escape legal scrutiny.

Few men who did not want to be quoted, told TOI that they had been thrown behind bars several times on the basis of false allegations. The trust said it provided free advice to men to escape misuse of law and they could contact on: 0888-249-8498. “My son was booked in a dowry case falsely. They even booked my wife and me. Where is our right to fight against false allegations?”, said M K Gupta (68), a Chandigarh resident.

