From a Pati-Parmeshawar or a Lord to a Partner: How the Conservative Patriarchal Family Ideology Operates and Is Challenged in the Courts

29/8/2022

The data from the NCRB shows that an increasingly large number of women are approaching the courts with complaints of domestic violence every year. In 2018, around 1,03,272 cases were filed, in 2019, again 1,25,298 cases and in 2020, around 1,11,549 cases were under section 498A IPC. These women are approaching the legal system as agents of change with the hope that they will no longer be abused. Complainants do not see their violent husbands as pati-parmeshwars, lords, or masters, but are expecting men to be their partners. The new generation of women views marriage as a companionship. They are simply demanding violence-free homes. This changing aspiration among young women is also reflected in some of the recent movies such as The `Darlings’, `Secret Superstar’, `Thappad’, and so on.

However, on the other side, neither the violent men, nor the male-dominated courts, nor the patriarchal society as the up keepers and the preservers of patriarchy are willing to come out of their traditional age-old patriarchal mindset. The rigid conservative attitude of the courts is evident from the recent remark made by a woman judge from the Delhi High Court who hailed Manusmriti and preached about family ideology rather than endorsing constitutional values. Also, from the analysis of the spate of judgments, it is observed that the courts promote `familyism and not feminism’. The patriarchal logic in such decisions paints complainants as `disgruntled women’, liars, `gold diggers’, and so on ignoring the fact that the law is clearly being made with the intent to protect the rights of the victims and survivors and that violence in marriage is not a `men versus women’ issue. The top-down approach of the courts failed to uphold the constitutional values or the aspirations of the new generation of women.

While examining these vast contradictions or the `clash of ideologies’ that operates on a daily basis in the courtrooms, this piece of work observes that in the 21st century, a vast difference exists between the way women on grounds are dealing with the realities of domestic abuse, the way the domestic violence laws exist on paper, and the top-down approach taken by the courts while implementing the laws.  This work, while referring to the patriarchal attitude highlights that an `insecurity’ prevails in the male-controlled society that is fearful of a new generation of women who are demanding violence-free homes, see marriage as a partnership and expect men not to be the companions and not the chauvinist lords. It suggests that the courts as the custodian of the rule of law need to uphold constitutional values and need to restrain from imposing the conservative ideology, to accept the changing socio-economic realities to shatter the shackles of conservatism. However, this is not happening. Yet, despite of facing huge challenges[, women, today, are showing the path of transformation by refuting patriarchy and countering the age-old traditions.

https://countercurrents.org/2022/08/from-a-pati-parmeshawar-or-a-lord-to-a-partner/