Shalu Nigam

  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 t

  Marriage is tragically not construed as companionship by the Indian state and society “A wife should be an administrator in purpose, a slave in duty, Lakshmi in appearance, Earth in patience, Mother in love, Prostitute in bed”, wrote the Kerala judge while quoting a Sanskrit shloka to interpret the duties of a woman in a matrimonial relationship. (2018) Thus, as per the court, a wife should be capable of adopting multiple roles. She must be perfect in work and appearance, should be caring and loving, and yet must work as a slave. The role of a wife is painted with high expectations, whereas no such roles are prescribed for husbands by the court. As per this notion, a woman can attain salvation only if she obeys her husband because, for her, her husband is a lord and a master beyond which she cannot have a separate existence. The traditional conservative notions about the ‘good woman’ who is obedient, compliant, docile, and does not question the norms are still prevalent within and ou