Recommendations by Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research

Photo Credit: Pius Lee

Hands painted with delicate swirls of henna; a drop of red dye pressed onto her forehead beneath a colourful, sparkling veil; jewelled bracelets clinking as she lifts her arms to fix her delicate gold nose ring in place: the Indian bride is the personification of beauty and grace.

It is not difficult to imagine why the majority of Indian girls begin dreaming of their wedding day from a very early age. It’s one of the most important days in a woman’s life and a proud occasion for parents and extended family too. Sadly, however, not every wedding day or marriage is picture-perfect. Non-Resident Indian marriages (NRI marriages), for example, often result in pain, heartache, shame, and the manipulation of Indian culture and traditions. They are a curse for unsuspecting girls and an enigma for Indian society.

NRI marriages involve the union of a non-resident Indian man who was born outside of India, or has migrated to another country and a resident Indian woman. Parents, usually with their daughter’s best interests at heart, get excited by a marriage offer from a NRI – a man who is seen to be exotic, successful and wealthy (and who may even tell lies of the sort). Blinded by a seemingly lucrative offer, families overlook the potential dangers posed by this type of impulsive matchmaking.

You may be wondering - what is so sinister about a NRI marriage proposal? Despite legal prohibition of dowry in 1961 in India, the custom still continues in many parts of the country – especially in poor, rural communities. An ill-intentioned NRI will go to great lengths in order to get his hands on dowry payment and then escape scot-free. As outlined in a report by the National Commission for Women on “Problems Relating to NRI Marriages”, women who are married off to these NRI men face a variety of grim consequences. Some women reach the country of their husband’s residence, only to be left standing at the airport when he doesn’t show. These women are abandoned in a foreign country with absolutely no support, sustenance, means of returning home, and often without even legal permission to stay on. Others find themselves victim to ex-parte divorce from a court abroad, without their consent. Some wives are brutally battered, abused, malnourished, confined, and forced to flee or forcibly sent back to India. There are also NRI marriage stories of children being abducted or forcibly taken away from their mothers.

So what can be done to address the situation?

The first step in tackling these issues is to spread awareness. The more people are aware of the pitfalls of NRI Marriages, the more cautious they will be when a stranger comes asking for a daughter’s hand in marriage. To target the largest possible audience, awareness of cultural, social & legal aspects of NRI marriages needs publicised via all media outlets. Awareness programmes should be run principally in rural areas, where the most vulnerable brides and their families live. NGOs and State Government agencies could launch an extensive campaign to educate unwary communities about the potential dangers of  NRI marriages.

It is pertinent that registration of marriages be made compulsory in India. In certain regions, marriages are registered without the presence of bride or bridegroom. This malpractice should entail cancellation of marriage certificates. Most importantly, strong and stringent checks on registration of all NRI marriages need carried out. As laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, men and women are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution and both parties must freely and fully consent to wedlock. Registration and surveillance of NRI marriages will protect women from the grave consequences of scam weddings and marriage proposals.

Centre for Social Research urges the Government of India to draft new legislation and/or suitably amend existing legislation for the protection of women against malicious Non-Resident Indian marriages. A special NRI matrimonial law that deals comprehensively with marriage, divorce, maintenance, child custody and related issues, for example, would arm distressed and abandoned brides with much needed remedial armour. Amending current laws and introducing new rules and regulations would help victims of NRI marriages reclaim their fundamental rights to property, equality in marriage, the protection of family, freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment, and above all, dignity.

Every young Indian girl dreams of a future in which she is content and in which she is loved. Predatory Non-Resident Indians must be stopped from turning those dreams into nightmares.

The utter lack of comprehensive laws regarding surrogacy in India has been causing complications for more and more foreign couples that choose Indian surrogate mothers. India is fast becoming the most popular destination to arrange for a surrogate mother, or a woman who will carry and deliver a baby for another person, due to its low cost and lack of surrogacy laws. But India isn’t the only country with convoluted legislature regarding surrogacy. Numerous other nations have less than friendly laws or hardly any laws on surrogacy, which causes confusions here at home and abroad.

In the United States, legislature regarding surrogacy varies across states. Arizona and Washington, DC ban all forms of surrogacy, while California has open surrogacy laws and Washington and Delaware only allow some forms of surrogacy. In other nations such as Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom altruistic surrogacy isn’t prohibited by law, but commercial surrogacy, where the surrogate mother is given monetary or some other form of compensation in addition to her medical expenses, is prohibited. Therefore, couples or individuals from countries that ban commercial surrogacy are bound to fall into a legal mess as soon as they land in India looking for a surrogate mother.

These nations also consider the surrogate mother as the legal guardian and require adoption of the child in order for it to be nationalized. In India, the 2008 Draft ART Regulation Bill requires birth certificates to include the names of the intended parents so that they become the legal guardians. The differences in the law cause problems for many couples returning to their nation of origin, although many heterosexual couples manage to return with their surrogate child by claiming surrogacy wasn’t involved. Gay couples, which are increasingly choosing surrogacy in India, often get stuck in long legal battles.

India isn’t the only country still debating laws around surrogacy; Japan and South Africa have been passing around legislature for year. Japan doesn’t prohibit surrogacy but strongly discourages it, believing that it causes physical and mental discomfort to the surrogate mother and confuses familial relationships. South Africa, although lacking specific legislature governing surrogacy, maintains strict guidelines. For example, only married couples can opt for surrogacy, and the surrogate mother must have at least one child of her own. The courts also require an examination of the commissioning parents to confirm that they have appropriate intentions and require a signed agreement between the surrogate mother and the commissioners in order to be able to nationalize the child.

India’s Parliament plans to pass a bill to strengthen surrogacy laws this year. Some provisions slated for addition include preventing same-sex couples from hiring a surrogate mother, not allowing surrogate mothers under the age of 21 and over 35, and prosecuting couples who disown the baby if it is born with defects. The intent of lawmakers is to prevent the exploitation of surrogate mothers of the 1.5 billion Euros per annum industry.

By Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research

The brutal murder of two women in the presence of an entire village in Bhiwani, Haryana state, where two men beat two women to death for having an alleged affair, is just one of the nearly 1,000 so-called “honour” killings reported annually across India. According to local news reports, the men beat the first woman for nearly an hour in public until she died, before moving on to the other woman. Not a single person intervened, nor did anyone inform the police who arrived two hours after the incident ended. Even a day after the incident, when news reporters attempted to find eyewitnesses to recount the event, only a few young men in the entire community stepped forward to say anything.

Women’s groups across the country have demanded an explanation from Haryana’s Chief Minister for why illegal systems of justice (khap panchayats, similar to a village council) continue to pass judgments and declare punishments to supposed transgressors of local social norms. These barbaric acts, “honour” killings, are not only illegal but also demonstrate the complete collapse of law and order. In this most recent case, the district magistrate, panchayat leader and Chief Minister must be held accountable for allowing such crimes in their territories. Also, the villagers who mutely acted as spectators and refused to intervene must also be charged in a criminal court.

Only yesterday, India’s Supreme Court announced their judgment banning khap panchayats. The Supreme Court also instructed the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure the implementation of this law and enforce stringent punishment to perpetrators of so-called “honour” killings. This order is expected to bring relief to thousands of women who live under constant fear.

Women’s groups had been emphasising over the years that khap panchayats and illegal systems of justice must be banned, and the perpetrators of so called “honour” killings must be punished. It is about eliminating the constant fear of being judged and then punished at any moment by such illegal and biased “courts” even when we are living in a democracy with a fully functional judiciary.

We are relieved to see that the Supreme Court has finally, at long last, taken action, and I hope that this judgment will protect our sisters and daughters living in traditional rural settings. Now it is the duty of the state, the police and the society to protect their women from the inhuman verdicts of these illegal courts.

Amidst the chaos of backlogged cases, increase in crimes against women and an incredibly low rape conviction rate, the Supreme Court approved the early release of three-convicted gang rapists this week. Supreme Court Justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra reduced the sentences of Baldev Singh, Gurmail Singh and Hardeep Singh to three-and-a-half years, the term they had already served, in exchange for a compensation of 150,000 rupees to be paid to the victim.

The decision comes at a time when crimes against women are a major crisis in India. Rape, which is a gruesome crime, should not be excusable for any reason. The three convicted criminals were responsible for the gang rape of a young woman in the Ludhiana District of Punjab on March 7, 1997. Although they were arrested within days of the incident, they weren’t convicted till 2007, nearly ten years after the incident.

Although rape is a non-compoundable offense, which means the sentence cannot be compromised for less than ten years for gang rape, Section 376(2)(g) of the Indian Penal Court permits a lesser sentence for “special reasons.” The Supreme Court Justices who adjusted the rapists’ sentences stated that the case was nearly 14 years old, and that the victim was happily married and ready to move on.

Yet the brutality of a crime doesn’t lessen over time. Rather, the fact that it took ten years for the victim to get justice is a major point of contention that should be addressed.

It’s no surprise that the lower courts in India lack gender sensitivity and efficiency in dealing with cases of rape and sexual harassment. But India’s highest court—and the one that has the most credibility—putting a price on a woman’s dignity, physical and mental health signals need for major reform.

Rhetoric and promises are free, but real action means real resources: If you want to know what a government really cares about, just take a look at how it spends its money.

Unfortunately, the proposed 2011-2012 budget of the current Indian government, unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last month, suggests that women—their safety, their equality and their empowerment—are not top priorities. Despite continued economic growth and much talk about women’s issues throughout India, resources for key areas related to gender equality have actually been reduced. Most shockingly, the budget allocation for the welfare of rape victims has been cut by an astonishing 85 percent: from Rs. 53.30 crore (more than $11 million USD) to a paltry Rs.7.5 crore (less than $2 million USD).

These cuts come despite a continued rise in the number of rapes reported. Last year official statistics revealed that over 21,000 cases were reported in India, and many more go unreported. SangeetRege of the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes has said that the level of spending in 2009 did not even cover the costs of daily medication for rape victims in India. To top that off, according to recent research, the majority of rape victims and women’s organisations are not even aware that they are entitled to financial assistance and other forms of support from the government.

Meanwhile, a scheme by the National Commission for Women to help victims with financial assistance and support services, established following Supreme Court directives a whopping six years ago, still awaits implementation. Such confusion and delays clearly prove that the Indian Government lacks direction on how to handle Violence Against Women.

Budget cuts to services for rape victims are not the only affront to India’s women: Inadequate increases in child development schemes and the decline in food subsidies received the most criticism in a panel discussion on the budget. NAC member and economist A.K. Shiva Kumar said, “Budgets can be visionary or inspirational. This one is certainly not.” Dr. Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at JNU, went as far to describe the budget as “anti-women”.

Despite continued economic development and extended spending in other areas, the Government is failing to address the rising tide of violence against women and the persisting inequalities between genders in India. According to the Prime Minister, “You cannot please all the people.” Let’s hope his Government doesn’t extend the same cavalier attitude to India’s millions of women.

This is part two of a two-part series. Read the first part here.

Domestic workers have few legal rights and no real job security in India. The gender implications are clear: Despite more and more men working in the sector, the vast majority of domestic workers remain girls and women. Excluded from the labour laws that protect other low-income workers, domestic workers are made vulnerable to a host of abuses: The only option they retain is to seek prosecution in a criminal court, which can be difficult for someone isolated in a new city, far from family and friends.

Domestic workers should be offered the same legal protections that others enjoy in almost any other regular, salaried job. This requires wider recognition not only of the importance of the work that domestic workers do but also that they are workers like anyone else. Unfortunately women domestic workers were excluded from the Sexual Harassment Bill, which aims to assist victims of harassment and put in place measures to reduce overall levels of harassment within workplaces.

Things might be getting slightly better on the legal front, however: Late last year, the Delhi High Court suggested that the city government bring forward legislation to regulate employment of women and children working in domestic environments. Ruling on a case involving an employment agency that had been illegally trafficking girls and boys, the court also called for agencies to ensure tighter enforcement of existing statutes. The Labour Department of Delhi was also directed to register legitimate agencies within an agreed upon timeframe, with information available to the Child Welfare Committee and Delhi Commission for Women.

That the Delhi High Court has woken up to the severity of the situation is good news, no doubt. Unfortunately, there remains much more work to be done. Police, existing legitimate employment agencies and perhaps most crucially of all, employers themselves must work harder to ensure that all domestic workers in India are protected. Those bogus recruitment agencies that cause so much misery can only operate with support of complicit employers. We all have a responsibility to ensure that domestic workers, whether in our homes or our neighbours’, are fairly treated and fairly paid.

This is part one of a two-part series. Read the second part here.

Maids, cleaners, cooks, nannies and other domestic workers are found in homes across India. While most hold steady jobs with fair employers, more and more women are being recruited as domestic workers by bogus agencies and end up trafficked, exploited and abused. Earlier this month, the courage of one 20-year-old woman helped end a human trafficking ring: Four men were arrested for running a racket that involved the trafficking and exploitation of as many as 45 girls, brought from their home states only to find abuse and misery in the capital. Initially promised respectable jobs, the girls were sold for as little as Rs. 15,000 (approximately $334 US Dollars) to abusive businessmen and traders. The police were able to stop the ring only after one victim escaped by jumping out of a moving van. Yet across our city and country, many others are still trapped after being duped by promises of respectable jobs, friendly employers, good working conditions and a fair wage.

With so many domestic workers needed in booming cities such as Delhi, and so many women in rural areas looking for a way to escape poverty, unlicensed and unregistered domestic help agencies have flourished. Often, girls as young as 12 years old are the most sought after; employers find them easier to mould and exploit. Once recruited, women and girls are housed in overcrowded, unhygienic, cell-like rooms, where they sleep and eat on the floor and may face sexual abuse, until they are found a job. Even then it is the agency that collects their wages, often withholding all money from recruited girl, claiming she still owes the agency a placement fee.

Bogus employment agencies often exploit the greed and laziness of families who are unwilling to properly check the backgrounds of their domestic workers. Yet while simple background checks can expose fraudulent agencies, most of the time these agencies only exist on paper, with no real offices or permanent staff. If complaints or made or investigations started, they simply pack up, move on and disappear. Given the large demand of both jobs and employees, gangs can easily close one bogus agency to open another. Shutting done agencies one by one is a near impossible task.

According to some estimates, the money involved in such operations is massive, and the racket is growing. Providing 10 girls a month, an unlicensed agency could make Rs. 50,000(approximately $1113 USD) in registration fees alone, with an extra Rs. 20,000 (approximately $445USD) each month from wages paid. A government panel has estimated that the sector has grown by at least 220% since the year 2000 alone.

By Claudia Schütz, a German intern with Centre for Social Research’s Research Department. Claudia will complete her Masters degree in Austria in 2012.

“Time has come to act,” said Professor Govind Raj of the Indian Society for International Law at the recent “Issues Relating to NRI Marriages” conference. As the coordinating agency for complaints related to Indian women who have been deserted by overseas husbands, the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs organised the conference to review the progress so far made on addressing the issue and to call for further recommendations.

Over the course of the last few years, we’ve witnessed an increase in the number of people misusing marriages between NRI (non-resident Indian) grooms and Indian brides, who quickly move abroad post-wedding to join their husbands. NRI grooms have often been found to be taking advantage of Indian women, who can find themselves isolated in new and foreign countries.

The conference saw the revision of earlier recommendations as well as an urgent appeal for the full implementation of others. CSR’s Director, Dr. Ranjana Kumari, contributed with a presentation that emphasised the urgency of a “single window approach”. As the problems emerging from NRI marriages involve numerous national laws as well as international agreements, NGOs and governments need to coordinate and work together to achieve our mutual objectives of helping these women.

By the end of the conference, participants had agreed on a number of recommendations, including:

• Agencies must ensure that NRI men are single and eligible to marry beforehand,
• All marriages and registrations of Indians abroad should be sent automatically to Indian embassies,
• Misuse of dowry must be recognised as a legal cause for divorce,
• A 24/7, toll-free helpline should be created in India and broad for potential and already married Indian women, and
• Indian women betrothed to NRI men should have access to sufficient information about their new country.