The city witnessed a first-of-its-kind gathering on Sunday as more than three dozen men, who had unhappy married lives, came together looking for support and legal help from peers.
An engineer working in Australia, a teacher, a farmer, a realtor, a retired State employee in his mid-70s and a railway employee among others discussed their disputes with their wives and in-laws who they alleged were using the law to harass them.
The meeting at the Krishna District Senior Citizens’ Welfare Association hall was hosted by the Tadepalligudem-based ‘Association for Wives’ Victims’ (Bharya Badhitula Sangham) which conducted similar campaigns in Hyderabad earlier.
“We know there are many genuine cases of women being harassed by their husbands and we condemn them. But our concern is about the misuse of the law by some women and in-laws,” said a participant, one of the organisers and a railway employee in Vijayawada, who was accused of harassment by his wife years ago.
Among the participants were also men who had divorced their partners and had a second marriage. “I am out of problem now but want to help others who are facing the consequences of false allegations,” says Balakrishna, a government teacher.
An engineer working in Australia said that he was accused of harassment while he was in that country. “When I came here my passport was confiscated by police following a complaint lodged by my wife. I got it back through the court but couldn’t continue working abroad as I have to attend hearings. We were together for just two months,” he said. His father also took part in the meeting.
A 30-year-old city man working in Hyderabad, who had also faced a similar problem, turned up only to help others after learning about the meeting from social media.
Apart from younger participants, there were also senior citizens who said they were facing troubles at home. “My wife and children left me 20 years ago. I recently got a property from my brother who had no children. Now, my wife and children are forcing me to give away the property to them,” said a 70-year-old participant.
1K run planned
“The government should take note of the false cases and ensure no men fall victims in the future. There should a time limit for the cases under section 498A of IPC (cruelty by husband or his relatives) to be disposed of by the police and courts,” said association president G. Balaji.
“We are waiting for more victims to come forward. Though there are thousands of such victims, many of them are not coming out fearing social stigma. We will soon organise a 1K run to gather more support,” he added.
Advocates A. Ram Prasad and P. Srinivas also took part in the meeting and offered to support the participants.
