Thiruvananthapuram :Our community changing into a place for dowry deaths and torture is deviant to the culture we have inherited, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday. The incident(Vismaya’s death) is truly regretful and one that is unsuitable to our society, said CM. The ongoing investigations will plug all holes to unearth facts in the case, said CM.
After a long interval, dowry death has become topic of statewide discussion once again. The state has passed 6 decades after law prohibiting dowry came into force. Still, dowry continues to be exchanged in several modes and measures. It is a disastrous social practice and we should be able to view and deal with domestic violence cases in that perspective, said CM.
Without difference to male-female gender, we should maintain an uncompromising stand whether it be family of woman or husband. There are two things in particular to be noted in this context. The first is for the reckoning of bride and her parents. We come across incidents where girls have “I don’t want that marriage” when there arises demand for dowry. Marriage is not a showcase for displaying one’s family wealth or stature. What has been given in dowry or how much should not be the measure of a family’s elation. A fixation on that line would mean selling of one’s daughter, said CM.
Also, parents on the boy’s side should exercise caution. Parameters like job, education or other personal factors should be taken as base for marriage alliances. Marriages and family life should not be reduced to business transactions. Parents should also understand that views aired at home in this regard leave lasting impressions on children’s minds.
Boys should not be moulded into thinking that securing loads in reward from bride’s home is some sort of a right. And, girls must not be groomed to assume that it’s okay for them to suffer mental or physical abuse at their husband’s home. These two attitudes are part of male chauvinistic thinking. Marriage is not about dominance rather it is about supporting one another.
Beating woman should not be made to be perceived as mark of manhood, Neither should girls be made to believe that suffering mental or physical torture is mark of womanliness. These kind of wrongful attitudes should not be imparted to children. We belong to times that demand new thinking and gauging man and woman at par, said CM.
The government on its part is planning to incorporate lessons in that vein into school textbooks. It should be our aim to transform Kerala into a bank of knowledge for which, we must mould a generation rich with education and high thinking. To do that, we each owe it to ourselves to ensure there is no room for thinking on lines of gender inequality. Basic lessons on that front should begin from home. The government will make suitable interventions to encourage such thinking at public venues and work places, said CM.
