A QUESTION OF GENDER LAW

In a society where it is still an uphill battle for women who seek justice in cases of gender-related crime, instances of women filing allegedly false cases of rape or dowry harassment form a contentious layer of legal action that has polarised the field.

- Rohit Parihar

Taking serious note of what is seen as a misuse of laws intended to protect women, the Rajasthan State Commission of Women has advised the police to take strict action against women whose complaints are found to be false. But this has made women’s groups and human rights organisations see red. On November 2, activists stormed into the commission’s Jaipur office protesting against what they call a regressive move that could increase the vulnerability of female survivors.

Women activists say while anyone making false accusations can attract legal action, it is not the commission’s mandate to recommend action against complainants. “Nowhere else in India and never before in Rajasthan has a women’s commission taken such a stand,” says Kavita Srivastava, president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan. In a memorandum submitted to the commission’s chairperson Rehana Riyaz, several women’s organisations said they were “extremely disappointed” by the “anti-women stand and action”.