Indian Woman Strips in Dowry Protest

[Guest guest]

NEW DELHI (July 6, 2007): When Pooja Chauhan stripped down to her

underwear and walked the lanes of conservative Rajkot, she wanted to

draw the attention of apathetic authorities. Little did she know that

within the next 48 hours she would be known globally, symbolic of the

thousands of Indian women who suffer the horrors that emanate from

the greed of dowry-seekers.

 

Only unlike many other women, the 22-year-old, decided to protest,

stirring a storm in what was definitely larger than a tea cup.

Letters of horror, of wonder, some queasy, some censorious are

pouring in by the minute. Largely, Indians, Netizens from the world

over are writing in to express their disgust at the treatment of

women in Indian society.

 

On a TimesofIndia.com debate asking whether Pooja was victim or

culprit, 82% respondents wrote in favour of Pooja, hailing her as

courageous and agreeing that the 22-year-old mother was a victim. But

there was a not negligible 18% that felt she stepped the line by

stepping out in public in her underwear.

 

Of these most were people who sympathised with her, but thought the

form of protest too extreme in the Indian context. Like Abhinav

Chandra from Bangalore, who wrote that " The action was really extreme

and the protest of such kinds may lead others to protest in this

manner. " Rave Kumar from Pune said that although the action she took

was too extreme, " It seems she was left with no other option. "

 

Or Lokesh Pathak from Delhi who says: " Pooja might be a victim, but

behaving like this in society is certainly not acceptable. You cannot

do just anything to draw your attention. This act should be

condemned. " Rishi from Boston agrees when he says: " It is ridiculous

to brand her as a victim. Allegation of dowry is the fastest and

surest way of getting back at the in-laws. "

 

In fact, though an overwhelming number of people wrote words of

sympathy and support for Pooja, when asked in the TimesofIndia.com

poll -- " Was the Rajkot resident's semi-nude protest too extreme? " †"

the ayes and nays were more even. For 40% respondents to the poll

said " Yes " it was. And 57% said " No " , it wasn’t. A small three per

cent did not wish to go either way.

 

The protestations come mostly from men readers, while women seem to

feel a kinship with Pooja. And many men too.

 

Pooja has alleged that her husband and in-laws mistreated her and

demanded more dowry. They also did not like the fact that she was

bore a girl child. Debashis Bakshi from Patna strongly feels

that " the husband and in-laws of this unfortunate woman should be

punished so that no one can dare think of torturing women for dowry. "

 

Hormaz Patel from Perth in Australia writes in to say, " Shame on the

police and the society at large for pushing a person to such an

extent. There is a law that protects the women from any sort of

harassment and the police are to take immediate action. But I guess

in a state like Gujarat, women are left to fend for themselves. Hang

your heads in shame. "

 

Hormaz' outburst is echoed by many other readers. And the police are

the target of much of the ire for its apathy in case, which readers

say is what led to Pooja’s unusual protest. Prashant from Pune feels

that she " has a genuine reason behind this act and the police should

have taken action. "

 

From Singapore Rakesh Mahajan, says: " Our police have a very thick

skin. They ignored Pooja earlier and hence she had to take such an

extreme action. It's not her fault. "

 

And Jaya, writing in from Bangalore says: " Only Pooja must have known

what she was going through, it's very easy to comment. If she has

gone to such an extent it only shows how corrupt our society is. What

Indian culture are we talking about when men in senior positions and

authority cannot take care of a woman who is being ill treated? " And

then the echo that resonates through the many letters of

outrage: " Shame on us. "

 

Sympathising with her plight, Vikram from Chandigarh writes: " Pooja

took this measure so that her voice is heard and now it seems that

the police have finally woken up and taken her in-laws into custody. "

The ordeal for Pooja is still not over as the police are planning to

book her for " Indecent behaviour. "

 

Anil Desai, from Mumbai, however, feels differently. He poses: " I

would rather ask people to check whether she is mentally sound to

take such drastic step. I totally agree that we need to look beyond

nudity. But was it really needed? What made her to take this extreme

step? "

 

As though to counter his argument is one from Sanjay Kohli in London,

who writes: " This is very similar to a scene in the movie Lage Raho

Munna Bhai in which an old man removes most of his clothes to pay the

bribe the official was demanding. The whole nation applauded the

scene and appreciated the problem of bribery in our society.

Therefore, Rajkot’s semi-nude protest should be seen in the same

perspective. "

 

More Gandhigiri. Ajay Bhutani from Canada congratulates Pooja and

states: " Sixty years of freedom, economic growth envied by the rest

of the world, India shining, yet we torture our women for dowry and

bearing daughters. I think Gandhi ji would have heartily endorsed

this non-violent protest. "

 

While the appropriateness of Pooja's protest is still being debated,

there is aspect that has almost universal agreement. That a husband

who loved her and then married her and the in-laws, should be taken

to task for driving Pooja to such extremes. Sajja from Uganda

writes: " The husband and in-laws of this unfortunate woman should be

punished so that no one can dare think of torturing women for dowry.

My full sympathy is there with this unfortunate woman. "

 

Tara Chopra writes from New York to say, " What was the Indian police

doing all this time. Action should be taken against Pooja's

despicable husband and in-laws as well as the police. Modi should

make her the minister for women's welfare. "

 

An emotional letter from Kiran Kumar, Jalandhar, who says

evocatively: " A female is not a lottery ticket that you marry to win

some money. We need to rever a lady. Stop this Durga Puja and

Navratras if we cannot respect the living Goddess. "

 

But a reader Sanjay Pandita would rather not join the chorus. He asks

why the in-laws and husband were arrested on the complaint of someone

who’s mental condition the same police are questioning. " The

answer, " he says, " lies in our laws such as 498A, the Domestic

Violence Act and Dowry Act. When it comes to cases under these well-

intentioned, but highly misused laws, the police, as a matter of

rule, arrest without bothering to check out the bona fide of the

complainant, as they did in this case. God save Indian Family! "

 

Indian Woman Strips in Dowry Protest

SOURCE: The Times of India. Pooja's plight evokes strong reactions

6 Jul 2007, 1856 hrs IST, INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK.

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-

2182798,prtpage-1.cms