Domestic Violence Rises with Education..

While we had a discussion few days back on this forum that modern day grooms are found getting sold in this unethical deal making requirements like they would be sold only to "a well educated, handsomely earning and a good looking wife", today I found a shocking research on this topic. This research conducted by UNESCO in 2002 shows that the cases of domestic violence increase with the rise in the level of education of the women. Not to be mentioned, this report does not mean that the girls of this country should not be allowed to gain higher education. Education is an empowering tool for women, and what is required is the attitudinal change among men and society in general.

The key interpretations drawn out of the findings from this report by a Delhi based organization are:

- As educated women are aware of their rights, they are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction

- The problem in India stems from a cultural bias against women who challenge their husband's right to control their behavior. Women who do this - even by asking for household money or stepping out of the house without their permission - are seen as punishable. This process leads men to believe their notion of masculinity and manhood is reflected to the degree to which they control their wives.

- Two of every five women in an abusive relationship in India remain silent about their suffering because of shame and family honor. The studies have also shown, nearly one-third of the Indian women experiencing abuse had thought about running away, but most said they feared leaving their young children and had no place to go. Activists felt that for intervention strategies to succeed, attitudes about violence would have to change and the level of awareness, among both men and women, about the negative impact of violence had to be raised.

To read the full news article, click here.

A few days back I came across another article by the founder of the organization Manushi, who says:

"Domestic violence is about using brute force to establish power relations in the family whereby women are taught and conditioned to accept a subservient status. Domestic violence is a way of trying to get women to believe that they can only live at men’s mercy. It is often committed by men with low self-esteem who destroy a woman’s sense of self worth because they feel inadequate to cope with a woman who thinks and acts as a free human being with a mind of her own.

Even though I maintain that dowry per se is not the cause of domestic violence, there is no denying that dowry demands and sharp escalation in the amounts of money being spent by families in putting together dowries has contributed to viewing daughters as a burden and consequent devaluation of women’s lives."

Hence, all our findings so far are coming together. Dowry leads to domestic violence, while the ego of men is also at work and while they want highly educated wives, their ego tries to push their wives down and this leads to Domestic Violence - physical and emotional!!

I think all of us need to spread the awareness.. as much as we can.. spread the word.. for spreading the word might help someone you know who needs your help.. for there are laws against these crimes.. !!