New Delhi: According to the latest report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) states that as many as 30% women respondents from 14 states and Union Territories justified men beating their wives under certain circumstances.
According to the NFHS-5 data, over 75% of women respondents across three states support men beating their wives. These states include Telangana (84%), Andhra Pradesh (84%), and Karnataka (77%).
Women respondents from other states like Manipur (66%), Kerala (52%), Jammu and Kashmir (49%), Maharashtra (44%), and West Bengal (42%) justified men beating their wives. The question that NFHS asked in the survey was, “In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife?” to which more than 30% of women from different 14 states and Union Territories said “Yes.”
The most common reasons put forward in the survey that justified wives getting beaten up by their husbands were neglecting the house or children and being disrespectful towards in-laws. Other reasons that followed were suspicion of being unfaithful, being argumentative, refusal to have sex, going out without informing the husband, neglecting the household, and not cooking good food.
Moreover, women respondents from places like Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Gujarat, Nagaland, Goa, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Telangana, Nagaland, and West Bengal focussed the main reason for wives getting beaten up is being disrespectful towards their in-laws.
Reportedly, the number of women respondents justifying men beating their wives is high in Telangana were as many as 84% of respondents felt that the behaviour is fair enough. On the other hand, only 14% of respondents from Himachal Pradesh supported this move.
Over 81.09% from Karnataka supported women being beaten up by their husbands compared to 14.2% in Himachal Pradesh.
While talking to PTI, Amita Pitre who is the lead specialist of Gender Justice: Oxfam stated that while working with women the organisation found out that harmful gender social norms tend to justify household violence against women and girls. “All the reasons cited to justify violence on women are a product of these norms: if she neglects the house or children, if she refuses to have sex with the husband, if she doesn’t cook food properly. All these define how women should behave in society,” said Pitre. Besides, Pitre advised women to move away from such men if gender-based violence against women has to stop.
