Shalu Nigam

  Excerpt from my book  Dowry is a Serious Economic Violence: Rethinking Dowry Law in India   (2023) Amazon Centuries ago, when Karl Marx wrote exhaustively about the callous exploitation of workers by the capitalist class, he may not have imagined how in South Asia, women as brides  would be treated as commodities, pitilessly exploited, and violently murdered in their own  homes by their abusive husbands for extorting wealth. As the ruthless oppression of the toiling masses could not be prevented by laws or policies, the merciless torture and murder of women could not be regulated despite establishing a legal mechanism in place. Over the decades, predatory capitalism has irrevocably acquired an altered form, and the free-market approach has devised a new mechanism of manipulation (Faber D, 2018). Similarly, the viciousness of the neoliberal forces, clubbed with patriarchy, feudalism, conservatism, rampant materialism, and excessive consumption propelled by extensive consumerism, is ag

  The Curses of Patriarchy https://countercurrents.org/2022/11/the-curses-of-patriarchy/ 08/11/2022 Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on They said you are a female, your birth is a burden I survived and thrived, flourished and bloomed Confronted their stereotypes and challenged their misleading notions I vowed that I will not accept their false binaries or phony divisions I will keep demanding equal rights and opportunities to be a human That is my firm declaration I laughed and move on   Patriarchy cursed me, I laughed and move on They said your education is a drain, It has made you in-vain You will empty your family’s purse and then You will move away when you get married to someone I questioned their negative stereotypes and adverse presumptions I opposed their entrenched superstitions and challenged their harmful assumptions I went to college to gain education, I got all degrees, medals, and accolades And walked out with distinction Aiming towards the path of progression I l

  She is a girl; she has a right to survive with dignity Shalu Nigam  21 June 2022 She is not a commodity to be traded  Hope that the moment you downgraded her could be faded  She is not an object of your desire She has dreams of her own to aspire She is not a burden to be discarded  She is a human to be accepted  She is not a property to be owned  She could imagine a world of her own She is not a source of your free labor Respect her rights and her worth, she is stronger Because she is a girl, a woman  She needs no permission Her body her life and her future belong to her Don't bring in your stereotypes, traditions or your repressive culture  Your world is brutal and discriminatory  But she dreams of a world that rests on equality Where everyone has a right to survive with dignity

  How Malimath Committee Denied Women their Rights? Section 498A IPC is inserted in the Indian Penal Code in 1983 and provides to protect women from cruelty in their matrimonial homes. The Malimath Committee Report (2003), twenty years after the enactment of Section 498A noted, “In less tolerant impulsive woman may lodge an FIR even on a trivial act. The result is that the husband and his family may be immediately arrested and there may be a suspension or loss of job. The offence alleged being non-bailable, innocent persons languish in custody. There may be a claim for maintenance adding fuel to the fire if the husband cannot pay. She may change her mind and get into the mood to forget and forgive. The husband may realize the mistakes committed and come forward to turn a new leaf for a loving and cordial relationship. The woman may like to seek reconciliation. But this may not be possible due to the legal obstacles. Even if she wishes to make amends by withdrawing the complaint, she ca

  Every little girl has a dream, a dream that will not die…. https://countercurrents.org/2021/09/every-little-girl-has-a-dream-a-dream-that-will-not-die/ 27/09/2021 Every little girl has a dream A dream to study, a dream to play, A dream to dance, a dream to fly, A dream to be free from all adversities, A dream that imagines equality, a dream that eliminates hierarchy, A dream that shatters glass ceiling, a dream that challenges patriarchy, A dream against oppression, a dream against subjugation, A dream of possibilities, passions and aspirations, A dream of liberation and a dream of emancipation, A dream that will not die…   You may build walls, fences or boundaries, You may create barriers of caste, class, religion or any other hierarchy, You may close schools, defund colleges, smother universities or lock libraries, But you cannot lock nurturing imaginations, You may use arsenals or weapons, bombs, military or prisons, For these dreams have been cultivated, and passed on through gen

  Family courts uphold family ideologies, not gender justice Demands were made to establish family courts, and the Family Court Act was enacted in 1984. The law provides for specialized forums to deal with ‘matrimonial conflicts’ and not domestic violence. These are designed to adjudicate matters such as divorce, custody suits, maintenance, restitution of conjugal rights, and connected issues. The goal is to make the courts accessible and less intimidating for women through dispensing with lawyers, legalistic jargon, strict rules of procedures, and standards of evidence. These courts depicted mediation as an alternative to the patriarchy-inspired adversary system. This is preferred by many because of its reputation to provide for a better hearing. Yet this system could not aid in reducing violence or enabling justice for women. Studies have shown that the family courts are not free from difficulties like backlogs, the exploitative commercial approach of lawyers, long drawn-out battles,

  Hail Patriarchy! Of Supreme Judges And Elite Law 07 November 2015 S ince the Supreme Court of India pronounced its verdict in the matter of Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association versus Union of India also commonly known as NJAC judgement where the court consisting of five judges bench by the majority declared the National Judicial Appointment Commission to be formulated under the 99th Constitutional amendment as unconstitutional, a debate has been initiated. Opinions are expressed in favor and against it, and a fierce discussion has been initiated regarding the manner in which transparency and accountability may be maintained while appointing judges. However, the Supreme Court of India on November 3, 2015, moved ahead and conducted a hearing to work on suggestions to strengthen the Collegium system. By coincidence or by choice, I somehow got the chance to be present in the courtroom where these proceedings were conducted. The room was packed with advocates, senior advocates, e

  Fighting for the Justice in the Patriarchal Courts 29 August 2017 The last few days witnessed the pronouncement of several significant celebrated judgments by the courts in the cases relating to the right to privacy, triple talaq, and the sentencing of a 20-years life term to a self-proclaimed Godman who raped women. All these three cases, somehow uphold people’s trust in courts as the custodian of the rule of law. Even otherwise, in normal parlance in India, courts are considered a temple of justice as well as the custodian of constitutional values by the common people. The courtroom is a space where domination and oppression are challenged and social as well as economic and political justice is facilitated. The prime duty of the court, hence, is to uphold the spirit of the constitution, the rights of people, and the rule of law. In fact, the democratic society places a high value on the independence of the judiciary. However, often, deeply embedded in the layered, hierarchical, pat

Yes, I Am a Woman….. By Shalu Nigam 28 July, 2014 Countercurrents.org https://www.countercurrents.org/nigam280714.htm On the occasion of this Independence Day, I continue to fight for my independence as a common woman, as a citizen of this free nation and more importantly as a human being… Yes, I am a woman and I am proud of myself. I am strong and I am growing stronger by each passing moment. I am an independent, fearless, free thinking woman making choices at every step reaffirming my pride, contesting for my dignity and in the process shaping and writing my own destiny…. I am the one with vision you see carrying bricks on construction sites... I am a woman toiling in an agriculture field awaiting for the crop of my imagination to be harvested... I am a worker working in a textile organization weaving my hopes in the garments I knit… I am a student with dreams in my eyes, cycling or running after buses… I am a scientist inventing and imagining, an architect, shaping and cementing the