True gender equality is when both women and men have a voice | Deepika Bharadwaj | TEDxGatewayWomen

Summary

The video script addresses the issue of gender inequality in legal systems, focusing on the misuse of laws designed to protect women, such as Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. It highlights the tragic story of Aadesh Yadav, a man driven to suicide due to false accusations and legal pressures. The speaker emphasizes that while laws protect women, there are no such safeguards for men facing false charges. The documentary 'Martyrs of Marriage' aims to shed light on these cases, advocating for true gender equality where both men and women are heard and protected.

Takeaways

• 😔 Aadesh Yadav, a young man, tragically took his life after facing false dowry allegations and molestation charges against his family.
• 😢 His suicide note expressed sorrow for his family’s suffering and highlighted how biased laws can turn a man into a criminal based solely on a woman's statement.
• 📰 The speaker emphasizes that such cases of men suffering due to false domestic violence and dowry accusations rarely make national headlines.
• 💔 There is a lack of legal recognition for unnatural deaths of husbands, unlike dowry deaths of women, which are acknowledged by law.
• 🚨 False cases, such as the gang rape accusation against Prashant Sablani and Milind Kap, result in severe consequences for innocent men, with no legal recourse against the false accusers.
• 😡 The speaker calls for legal reforms to prevent the misuse of laws intended to protect women, as they are currently being used to extort money or harm men unjustly.
• ⚖️ The speaker urges for equality in laws, highlighting that men lack protections similar to women in cases of domestic violence, mental or physical cruelty, and adultery.
• 📞 Men in distress have limited support systems, as most helplines cater exclusively to women, leaving men without legal or emotional assistance.
• 🎥 The speaker created the documentary 'Martyrs of Marriage' to raise awareness about men fighting false legal cases in marriage, some of whom have succumbed to the pressures.
• 🤝 True gender equality, according to the speaker, means that both men and women should be heard and have legal recourse against injustice, irrespective of gender.

Q & A

What event does the speaker reference at the beginning of the transcript?

The speaker references the suicide of a young man named Aadesh Yadav, which occurred on February 27, 2015.

What led to Aadesh Yadav’s suicide according to the speaker?

Aadesh Yadav's suicide was a result of being implicated in a false dowry case by his wife, who also accused his family of molestation. The stress of these accusations, his father's heart attack, and his inability to resolve the situation led to his death.

What is the key issue that the speaker highlights regarding gender laws in India?

The speaker highlights the issue of gender bias in India's legal system, specifically how men can be falsely accused in cases of dowry, rape, and domestic violence, with little legal recourse or protection for them.

What does the speaker say about the consequences of misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code?

The speaker argues that the misuse of Section 498A, which is meant to protect women from dowry harassment, has led to 'legal terrorism,' where men and their families are falsely implicated in dowry cases, leading to their ruin.

What case is mentioned to illustrate the problem of false rape accusations?

The speaker mentions the case of Prashant Sablani and Milan Kap, who were falsely accused of gang raping a friend in 2012. Despite having no evidence against them, they spent over 14 months in jail before being acquitted.

What legal disparity does the speaker emphasize in terms of domestic violence laws?

The speaker emphasizes that domestic violence laws in India allow women to file criminal cases against men for mental or physical cruelty, but men do not have the same legal protections to file such cases against women.

What project did the speaker initiate to address the issue of false accusations against men?

The speaker started a project called 'Martyrs of Marriage,' which is a documentary film that shares the stories of men who have been falsely accused and suffered due to the misuse of marriage-related laws.

What is the speaker’s view on true gender equality?

The speaker believes that true gender equality means that both men and women should have a voice and be heard. Laws should protect both genders from injustice without bias.

How does the speaker describe the emotional toll on men accused of false cases?

The speaker describes that men who are falsely accused often experience emotional trauma, loss of self-respect, dignity, and careers. They may even be driven to suicide due to the overwhelming pressure.

What legal reforms does the speaker suggest in the context of false accusations?

The speaker suggests that laws should include safeguards to prevent their misuse and ensure that both men and women receive justice. There should be deterrents against filing false cases, and the legal system should recognize when men are victims of abuse.

Outlines

00:00

💔 Aadesh Yadav's Tragic Suicide Due to False Dowry Accusations

The paragraph describes the tragic suicide of Aadesh Yadav, a young man from India, who took his life after facing false dowry accusations from his wife. Aadesh’s family was subjected to harassment, including a molestation case against his brother and father. His father’s heart attack, followed by Aadesh's suicide, highlights the immense pressure they faced. Aadesh left a suicide note questioning the legal system's bias and asking for justice for his family. The paragraph also reflects on how false dowry cases are driving men to suicide, and how the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is devastating families.

05:01

🧑‍⚖️ False Rape Accusations Ruining Lives of Innocent Men

This paragraph focuses on the case of Prashant and Milind, two men who were falsely accused of gang rape by a woman whose parents disapproved of her lifestyle. Despite their innocence, they were imprisoned and underwent a long criminal trial. The paragraph emphasizes the lack of accountability for false accusers and the damage caused to innocent men's lives. It also questions how society and laws can be so one-sided, prioritizing the protection of women while neglecting the injustices faced by men. The narrator reflects on meeting Milind’s mother, a widow, who spent her life savings fighting the case for her son.

10:04

⚖️ The Double Standard in Gender Laws

This paragraph brings attention to the societal and legal double standards that exist in cases of abuse and gender-related violence. It challenges the typical narrative of male perpetrators and female victims, asking readers to consider the perspective of men who are wrongfully accused. The narrator advocates for equal justice, urging the creation of laws that prevent the misuse of legal provisions meant for women's protection. She questions why men implicated in false cases have no recourse or support, despite having their lives and careers destroyed.

📞 Helplines for Men: A Growing Need

The narrator addresses the lack of support for men facing emotional and legal challenges, pointing out the absence of helplines and services for men in distress. Men in need of help are forced to call women's helplines, which are not equipped to handle their issues. The privately run helpline FIF gets thousands of calls from men every month but can only offer emotional support. The narrator explains that this realization prompted her to create a documentary called 'Martyrs of Marriage,' which highlights the struggles of men who face legal battles due to false accusations.

🎥 Trailer for 'Martyrs of Marriage' Documentary

This paragraph introduces the trailer for the documentary 'Martyrs of Marriage,' which tells the stories of men who have been falsely accused and suffered the consequences. The trailer shows clips of people sharing their traumatic experiences with unjust legal battles. It emphasizes how laws such as Section 498A of the IPC are being misused to extort money and gain an upper hand in marriages. The narrator concludes by expressing her belief in true equality, advocating for a system where both men and women are heard and treated justly.

Keywords

💡Suicide

Suicide refers to the act of intentionally causing one's own death. In the video, the speaker discusses multiple cases of men, like Aadesh Yadav, who took their own lives due to immense pressure and alleged false accusations, illustrating how suicide is used to highlight the tragic consequences of societal and legal injustices.

💡Dowry Case

A dowry case typically refers to legal proceedings involving the demand or giving of dowry, which is illegal in India under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The script focuses on the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which addresses cruelty related to dowry demands, showing how false accusations can lead to devastating consequences like suicide.

💡False Accusations

False accusations are wrongful claims made against someone without evidence or truth. The video script provides examples of men being falsely accused in dowry and rape cases, causing irreversible harm to their reputations, families, and mental health, questioning the misuse of laws meant to protect the vulnerable.

💡Section 498A

Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is meant to protect women from cruelty by their husbands or relatives. However, the video highlights how this law has been misused by some individuals to wrongfully accuse men, leading to arrests, mental distress, and even suicides, as in the case of Aadesh Yadav.

💡Gender Equality

Gender equality refers to equal treatment and opportunities for all genders, without discrimination. The speaker advocates for true gender equality, arguing that men should also be protected from legal and societal injustices, emphasizing that equality must include both men and women being heard and respected.

💡Misuse of Law

Misuse of law refers to the exploitation or manipulation of legal provisions for personal gain or to harm others. The script discusses how laws created to protect women, such as Section 498A and rape laws, are sometimes misused to falsely implicate men, leading to severe personal and societal damage.

💡Legal Terrorism

Legal terrorism refers to the abuse of legal frameworks to unfairly target or harass individuals. The speaker uses this term, quoting the Supreme Court of India, to describe the way in which misuse of certain laws, such as Section 498A, has created fear and suffering for falsely accused men, thereby distorting the purpose of these laws.

💡Injustice

Injustice in this context refers to the lack of fairness or justice, particularly when laws are applied unequally or are abused. The video discusses the injustice faced by men wrongfully accused in legal cases, urging for reforms to prevent the system from becoming biased and ensuring that all genders receive fair treatment.

💡Martyrs of Marriage

Martyrs of Marriage is a documentary film project mentioned in the video, focusing on individuals who have suffered or lost their lives due to false accusations and misuse of marriage-related laws in India. It aims to shed light on the struggles of men falsely implicated in cases like dowry harassment or domestic abuse.

💡National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body in India that works for women's rights and legal protection. In the video, the speaker questions why similar commissions or legal recourses do not exist for men, pointing out the imbalance in support systems available for men and women facing domestic or legal issues.

Highlights

Aadesh Yadav, a young man, committed suicide after being implicated in a false dowry case, and his family's property was demanded in exchange for dropping the case.

Aadesh's suicide note revealed the emotional torment he and his family experienced due to the false accusations, pleading for an investigation into their innocence.

Men in India are increasingly committing suicide due to false domestic violence and dowry accusations, leading to societal and familial pressures.

The misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (anti-dowry law) is leading to a new form of 'legal terrorism' according to the Supreme Court of India.

The tragic case of Prashant and Milind, accused of gang rape by their own friend, reflects how false accusations can ruin lives, even when no evidence supports the claim.

Prashant and Milind were acquitted after spending 14 months in jail and enduring a 2.5-year-long trial, despite having proof of innocence.

No action was taken against the false accusers in the cases mentioned, highlighting a severe gap in the Indian legal system.

The speaker reflects on the broader issue of laws being biased, where men have no legal protection against domestic violence, false dowry, or sexual harassment cases.

The speaker emphasizes that justice should be gender-neutral, advocating for laws that serve as deterrents against misuse by either gender.

The documentary 'Martyrs of Marriage' was created to share the stories of men who have suffered, fought, or succumbed to false accusations, particularly in marital disputes.

India lacks official statistics on the unnatural deaths of husbands, which contrasts with the well-documented cases of dowry deaths among women.

Men are expected to 'move on' when a relationship ends, whereas women can file legal cases, including rape on the pretext of broken marriage promises.

In cases of false rape accusations, such allegations skew crime statistics, trivializing the seriousness of rape and inflating the crime graph.

There are no government helplines for men, and distress calls from men seeking support often end up at women's helplines, which cannot offer legal protection.

The speaker's belief in true equality is based on giving everyone—man or woman—a voice and ensuring everyone is heard in the pursuit of justice.

Transcripts

[Music]

on February 27

2015 I woke up to the news of suicide of

a young man in

Chi one among several such news stories

that I've been waking up to in the last

3

years I would usually find these new

stories only in Regional newspapers

because this and whatever I would talk

about today rarely makes a national

headline or a breaking

news so I inquired about this case and

got to know about

aadesh aadesh yadav a young bright

energetic hardworking Bank employee a

middleclass man with big dreams of

marriage spending life with his soulmate

like all of us too

unfortunately marriage became the

biggest mistake of his life and also the

reason for his

death in a three and a half page suicide

note a shares how he and his entire

family were implicated in a false Dy

case his wife demanded that his father's

property be transferred in her name to

settle the matter when they refused she

filed a molestation case on his brother

and

father his father suffered a heart

attack just few days later AES hanged

himself I would share a few lines from

his suide

note to all I request you to save my

family from this unexpected

problem to the National Human Rights

Commission to the National commission

for women please investigate if I or my

family was wrong

ever how can the law be so biased that

it turns a man into criminal merely on

statement of a

woman I thought a lot but found no

option mommy Papa I'm sorry please don't

cry as it would hurt me

more you may not know but aades is one

among several men in India who are

killing themselves

because of domestic violence false cases

of

dowy Demands of huge sums of money to

settle these matters leaving no option

but a suicide note to reclaim their

innocence to put it in perspective he

suffered misuse of section 498 of the

Indian Penal Code commonly known as the

anti- ACT you don't need to ask for doy

to be implicated in a dowy cas

case if this was a woman this death

would have perhaps been called a doy

death by law but unnatural deaths of

husbands are not recognized under the

law and thus we do not have any

statistics on June

2012 news of Amity gang rape case broke

in New

Delhi Prashant sablani Milan Kap

were accused of gang raping their own

friend in March

2015 a delot honorably acquitted both

these boys observing that the parents of

the woman pushed her into implicating

the accused because they did not like

that she got drunk with Prashant on day

of the alleged

crime though there was no what evid

whatsoever to the allegations even the

place of crime being

imaginary Prashant and Millan spent a

Haring 14 months in thar jail and

underwent a criminal trial for 2 and a

half years despite having every proof of

Innocence their bail was constantly

denied perhaps because at that time

India was reeling under the aftermaths

of the horrifying Nira gang and rape

case and in a sense did not matter if

you were a man and an

accused no action has been taken against

the false accusers in this case or in

several cases in India that are

happening

today I meant Milan's

mother she's a

widow she spent her life's saving in

fighting the case for her son though he

was not at fault

she is a

woman whenever a woman is abused we ask

what if she was your sister what if she

was your mother today I want to ask you

all what if aadesh was your

brother and you saw him dying every day

and eventually dead he was not at

mistake what if Prashant or milind were

your son your brother or just a

friend and no matter how much you cried

or of their innocence with evidential

proof you would not be

heard laws have been made for protection

of women should be what about a law that

serves as a deterrent so that these laws

are not

misused Justice should be served to

women but what about Justice to those

who are implicated in false cases their

lives ruined their careers lost their

self-respect dignity status

shattered asking money for doy is wrong

but is asking money after filing a false

case fine all

right

how is abuse of these Provisions that

have been made for a purpose helping the

cause of

women in sushil Kumar versus Union of

India on misuse of 49 AA Supreme Court

said by misuse of these Provisions a new

legal terrorism can be

unleashed the law was made to serve as a

shield and not assassin's

weapon if the Cry of wolf is made too

often as a prank assistance might not be

available when the actual wolf

appears parting away comments in a false

rape case filed by a woman in Delhi

Justice Wenda had said false rape cases

play Havoc with crime statistics shoot

up the crime Gruff and tend to

trivialize the offense of

rape these words in all these quotes are

from esteemed courts in India esteemed

people a lot of people misunderstand my

work as that which is against women it

is not it is against Injustice

I have suffered as a woman when I was a

sister when I was a daughter and I've

seen death very

closely you know in times when we are

talking about gender

equality in times when we are talking

about laws that should be made for

everybody though I am a woman and I

connect with pain of women I also

connect with pain of men

a gender that's not supposed to

cry a gender which is not supposed to

share their sufferings or

orals and I chose to talk about men

because when we are talking about laws

when we are talking about equality when

our constitution says that nobody should

be discriminated upon on basis of cast

Creed religion and

gender we have laws

where a wife can file a criminal case of

mental or physical cruelty but a husband

can't we have law of domestic violence

where a woman can seek protection citing

physical mental emotional Financial

sexual or verbal abuse but a man

can't we have laws of adultery that

immunes a married woman from any

criminal prosecution so a husband cannot

do anything in that situation

all that a married man can do today is

file a case of divorce and grounds of

Cruelty and even when he does that no

matter how much he's tortured or abused

or he's on the verge of committing

suicide when he does file a case of

divorce he can get several criminal

cases on him so he turns from a victim

to a

perpetuator we have laws for rape sexual

harassment at workplace word gesture or

act that insults the Dignity of a woman

but these laws do not consider men as

victims there are several cases that

have come across now where if a man

breaks up from a

relationship a woman can go ahead and

file a case of rape and promise of

marriage whether a promise was made or

not made but if a woman breaks up from a

relationship a man is expected to just

move on

when I became open to and aware to this

Injustice that is happening when I got

to know that while we have several

government helplines for everybody but

not for men so what is happening these

days is men who are in distress end up

calling up women's helpl line and they

do not have any support for

them there are several reports to that

account now that have come in newspapers

some say that 24% of those calls are on

women helpline are for men the only

privately run helpline for

men fif one gets thousands of calls

every month and all that the counselors

can do is provide emotional support

because there aren't any laws and there

isn't any

protection so when I became open to

aware and aware to this Injustice I

thought that I would not be silent and

speak up and that is when I decided to

start a project called martys of

marriage it's a documentary film that

shares stories of those who have fought

who are fighting who have won and some

who have succumbed to the most

unexpected Battle of their life called

marriage here's a small trailer of that

film

[Music]

he's not there he was more than a

brother to me it was 9:15 in the night

when we were arrested I was sent to

jail without even being asked a single

[Music]

question is

[Music]

these provisions of IPC not only being

misused but they are grossly misused

this is a tool which has been used only

to extort money to make a better deal

from the marriage if after many years we

notice that the law is being GR cly

abused whether it is 498a or whether it

is even 376 or

whatever it is incumbent Upon A

responsive government to rise up to the

challenge and to address the problem

[Music]

[Applause]

just like you don't need to be a woman

to fight for wom you don't need to be a

man to fight for

men a lot of men in past and today have

taken a stand against Injustice and

women I have taken a stand against

Injustice and

Men my

belief true equality

equality where everyone has a voice be

it woman or a man and everyone is heard

be it a woman or a man thank you

[Music]