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Kriti Lodh
Ms. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 2, Skinny A
March 13, 2015
Final Publish Ready Term Paper
The Barrier to Political and Social Progress in India: Domestic Violence
Honored author, Rachel Caine once said, Dont play his game. Play yours. Women that
suffer from the tough reigns of domestic abuse should follow these words of wisdom by the
esteemed Rachel Caine. From country to country the inferiority of women has been a
predominant trait that has trended throughout history, and it still appears that many people,
especially those in third world countries, believe that women belong under the hand of their male
counterparts. A pressing issue throughout the world happens to be the act of committing crimes
against women, especially in the form of domestic violence. This is one of the most prominent
endemic detrimental to the society of India as 70% of the women are victim subjected to the
evils of domestic violence. Since domestic abuse is a faulty contribution to the nation of India,
there are negative repercussions that are conducive to the demise and exponential downfall of
societal factors in the country. With this information in mind, it has come to the attention of all
that this is a growing hindrance to India as she cannot prosper socially, politically, and
economically as well as gain veneration from the eyes of the world around. By addressing these
concerns of why is this exploitation of women is occurring and how to overcome this oppression,
hand in hand India can make an effort to conquer the supremacy of domestic violence that has
left India and her women in the shadows of despair.

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Moving on, it is lucid that the number of reported cases continues to be moving up in an
uphill fashion as more women seem to be voicing their opinions and thoughts, but the downside
that brings ominous light to this positive aspect is the fact that family members and friends
surrounding these women fail to have any support or empathy. As of 2013, reports claim of
approximately 309,546 reported cases, this being the maximum number of publicized offenses
against women, where crimes were committed against women, and over one third of these
incidences were consummated through the means of domestic abuse. Deciphering the majority
of domestic violence situations in further detail, it can be duely noted that From 50,703 in 2003,
the number of reported cases has gone up to 118,866 in 2013 - an increase of 134% over 10
years, far out-stripping the rise in population over the same period. Campaigners say that could
be because the Indian government brought in a new law in 2005 to protect women against
violence at home and more women are coming out to seek help. (Gotrick). The discovered
cases continues to be accelerating forward as the numbers proliferated, however this is not due to
the fact that domestic violence is on the rise, but rather it is because of the increase in women
willing to seek aid for their suffering. That being said, it is virtuous that a more prodigious
population of women are acquiring the assistance they lust after, however, it seems absurd that
even after the law being passed in 2005, there is still an exponential swell. Studying the culture
and belief system of India, this could be due to societal factors that illustrate Indias position to
the world. Although this variety of maltreatment can be distinguished worldwide, there is
something idiosyncratic about domestic violence in India which can be understood in the
following statements, Domestic violence is not unique to India. It occurs around the world, but
what sets it apart in India from many other countries is the culture of silence that still surrounds
it. When Aditi sought help from her mother, she received little sympathy. "I told my mum that

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this is what I'm going through, there was a time when I showed her bruises on my legs, I told her
about the fact that my husband had forced himself upon me. And she just said, how can you say
this about yourself? How can you say this about him? You just need to live with it, you need to
endure it. You do whatever it takes to make your marriage work." (Pandey). Indias culture
inculcates juvenile women with the impression that divorce is not a viable option. Regardless of
how negative the ramifications are, it is not a social norm to divorce or separate once two people
have been wed. As unfortunate as it is for a mother not to pursue assistance in a barbaric
situation like this, it is because of the influences of society; if they were to disjoin then society
would view Aditi and her family as inferior thus causing them to be shunned. Why is the amount
of cases of domestic violence on an upsurge and why do these women allow these atrocious
deeds of maltreatment to me done to them are questions that those in the society of first world
countries ponder about and cannot comprehend. A correlation can be found between the fear and
pressure of society against women leaving their husbands and the immense desecration that they
undergo.
With that thought in mind, like every other country, India also has its developed and
undeveloped regions; where the majority of this treacherous violence materializes are regions
filled with uneducated, rural, poverty-stricken people. A question that many people deliberate in
the context of domestic violence is where it all begins, and the answer to that is none other than,
at home. In regard to social and cultural norms in India, it can be noted that, It is difficult and
potentially misleading to make a culture-based argument about the problems that women face in
India because of the size and diversity of the country. There is no one culture that is either
exclusively Indian, or covers the whole population residing within its borders. Generalizations
that ignore even one percent of the population leave more than ten million people out of the

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calculation. Thus the situation of women varies within India. Especially women from the northeastern provinces as well as in the south tend to be in a better position. Their share of the female
work force, especially in the service sector seems to be quite high. Moreover, they are considered
to be more visible and active in the public sphere. Moreover regressive social codes that
disproportionately penalize women are not unique to India, and have been a social hurdle in all
countries when it came to extending political, legal, and economic rights to women. (John,
Ahamd, Schneider). Depending on the area in which women reside results in how beneficial and
uprising their future will be. Areas where traditional cultural norms are practiced are the places
where many tend to be mistreated. This includes expanses like villages where many remain to be
illiterate and are taught that tending to the home, husband, and producing offspring are the only
values a woman serves. Vijayawada, Kota, Asansol, Jaipur, and Jodhpur concoct the top five
worst-affected cities in India. If women are to object, defy, or simply make a mistake, the wrath
of the husband and his family are taken out on her. Statistically speaking, Some numbers
clearly indicate a large problem in Indian societys attitude of women at the macro level.
According to the 2011 census the sex ratio between men and women indicates 940 women to a
1000 men which is a definite improvement over the 2001 census where the ratio was 933:1000.
However, India still has one of the lowest sex ratios on the world with approximately 35 million
women "missing". The highest number of missing women at birth is in the north-western states
of Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, etc. Research indicates that 12% of this gap is found at birth
which increased to 25% in childhood1. (Finn). These issues seem to elevate from birth. It is
almost as if inferiority of women are positioned upon them prior to birth, as a majority of India
remains to believe that men are more worthwhile causing many to give away their daughters or
merely look down upon them in disdain and be thwarted by them their whole lives. Research

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shows, from the conduction of interviews that parents in these villages prefer males since they
implicate the characteristic of being more pragmatic and that the birth of a female is
incontrovertibly an ignominy. Women in India have been punished for giving birth to female
offspring, being lashed, set ablaze, beaten, demeaned, etc. even though the sex of the baby is a
constituent out of anyones jurisdiction. Again, this is more predominant in areas where trivial
parishes are common because these are the regions where education, economic status, and
political reign are poor. By aiding people in these regions by providing them with a means to
schooling, it could be possible to aid them in getting out of this rut of thinking negative about the
role of women and relying on ferocity to achieve their needs.
Through this all, the major focus should be on what the government is doing and will do
to increasingly pauperize the number of women being depraved and eventually eliminate this
disgusting societal aspect as a whole so that these women can depart from their apprehension.
Many ideas are being suggested by the Indian national government and people worldwide about
ways to eliminate the toll that domestic violence attributes to these women. An effective
response would be to improve the health sector of India in a means to seek out women and help
them in their times of need, Not only that, but help should be more readily available to those who
are desperate for it, (Video Volunteers). Viewing this statement, it can be concluded that it
would be beneficial to all if help was more easily reachable since the majority of these women
reside in secluded locations where they are surrounding by a weak if any support system. This
would definitely be satisfactory for a short term goal, but the ultimate ambition is to dispose of
domestic violence in a long term standpoint for the overall improvement of India, as she is
interpreted by other countries as poor and disrespectable since the belief system allows women to
be under the hand of a man. ultimately, these women need to be provided with education so

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they are able to provide for themselves without dependence in a man (Leela, Mitra,
Poonacha, Pandey). Education does seem to be the key to the problem at hand because with the
low literacy rates in these regions these women are unable to escape with the reasoning that they
cannot provide for themselves or even their children if they are liberated from the rigid grasp of
their abuser. Hence, by providing them with the knowledge they need, these women can prosper;
all they need is the government to establish affordable schooling. With this in mind, not only will
these women be free, but so will their nation, their motherland, so will their India.
With the previous statistics and facts stated, it is substantiated that although India is on
the uprise of guiding women to stand up and speak out in order to survive despite of their
grueling pasts, there is still a copious amount of room for improvement and aid. Thinking of
those 309,546 women, those being the only reported cases with tens of thousands occurring
without the knowledge of others, it truly puts things into perspective and illustrates how behind
certain areas of India still are in the grueling process of development. This can be noted from the
notion that women still belong under the hand of a man rather than hand in hand to celebrate
equality and liberty. Suffering with burns, cuts, and mauled limbs, these women are attempting
to jump over hurdles that most could not dream of. Although India is not the only country in
which women seem to be receiving such maltreatment, it does seem to be a cultural issue that is
impinging the country from prospering politically, socially, and economically as it demeans her
status in the eyes of others.

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Works Cited
Dona John, Omair Ahamd, and Maria Schneider. "India: Violence Against Women. Current
Challenges and Future Trends." Freiheit. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
Finn, J. "Domestic Violence Organizations on the Web: A New Arena for Domestic Violence
Services." Violence Against Women 6.1 (2000): 80-102. Hetv. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.
Gotrick, Jennifer. "India Domestic Abuse More Common in 'arranged' Marriages."Wnn
Interviews Global. N.p., 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
Pandey, Geeta. "100 Women 2014: Violence at Home Is India's 'failing',." BBC India. BBC, n.d.
Web. 18 Jan. 2015.
Video Volunteers. "Violence against Women - Domestic Abuse Survivor Speaks out."YouTube.
YouTube, 18 Mar. 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
Visaria, Leela, Nishi Mitra, Veena Poonacha, and Divya Pandey. Domestic Violence in India.
Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 1999. Icrw. Sept. 1999.
Web. 3 Feb. 2015.