In Kerala, Woman Dies Two Days After She Sends Cousin Pictures Of Physical Abuse By Husband
Domestic violence skyrocketed during the lockdowns. In India, women were locked up with the people they feared the most, their abusers. Some women get away with emotional scars of their domestic violence, some are left with physical scars and some women don’t even get a chance to fight for justice. Their die at the hands of their abusers- sometimes their in laws- but in many cases the husband.
In Kerala, a woman called Vismaya was found dead this morning. She was only 24. What is shocking and unnverving is that two days ago, she had a conversation with her cousin talking about the intense domestic violence she was facing. All this because the dowry demands were not met.
Vismaya was studying and her marriage to Kiran Kumar was recent. They got married in March 2020. Her body was found at Kiran’s family home in Kollam district. In the Whatsapp screenshots, Vismaya talks in detail about the domestic violence to her cousin, saying that Kiran pulled back her hair and stamped her on the face. She shared pictures of the violence with visible bruises on her face, shoulder and hands. The Kerala Women’s Commission has taken cognisance of this case.
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Apparently, Vismaya’s parents had given dowry but Kiran wanted cash and resorted to domestic violence for this. According to Vismaya’s father, this is not the first case of domestic violence in the household. Earlier too, Kiran had assaulted Vismaya. The matter was even taken to the police but the families got together to reach a compromise and Kiran was let off.
Vismaya’s brother has appealed that this death be considered a murder. Women’s Commission member Shahida Kamal who registered the case, said, “We registered the case as soon as we got information that it was dowry harassment. After that the victim’s brother contacted me and sent me the images and WhatsApp conversations of the woman, concerning the harassment she faced. The Women’s Commission has asked Kollam Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) to submit a report. We have also asked to have the post mortem done at a hospital chosen by the woman’s family.”
Another young girl loses her life to domestic violence stemming from dowry demands. Why are our women not safe anywhere?
