09 Sep 09 Moms-in-law join hands to break cruel stereotype
Chennai: After battered wives and harassed husbands, it is the turn of mothers-in-law to form an organisation. More than 500 from across the country came together in Bangalore to launch the All-India Mothers-in-law Protection Forum (AIMPF) on Sunday.
For some, it will provide a forum to be heard; for others, it is to break the ‘cruel woman’ stereotype that TV soaps have been reinforcing. So varied is the constitution of the forum that it has as members a university teacher from Chennai, a forensic expert from Delhi and a Karnataka surgeon.
(more…)
Tags: battered wives, convener, cruel woman, Daughter-in-Law, daughters in law, domestic violence, domestic violence act, forensic expert, homemaker, host discussions, Indian Family, inheritance laws, manoj, Marriage, mother-in-law, mothers in law, tv dramas, tv soaps, university teacher, violence against women, virag, Women, Women's Rights
09 Sep 09 Mothers-in-law band together to fight ‘cruel’ stereotype
Written by Gulf Times
New Delhi : Hundreds of mothers-in-law have come together to form an organisation to fight harassment and abuse by their sons’ wives, news reports said yesterday. Between 500 and 700 women from across India launched the All-India Mothers-in-Law Protection Forum (AIMPF) in Bangalore on Sunday, local newspapers reported yesterday.
The organisation will be supported by the Save India Family Foundation, a non-governmental agency set up recently for husbands who allege harassment by their wives, the Times of India newspaper reported.
The new group will work to break the “cruel woman” stereotype reinforced by Indian TV soap operas and demand protection against torture and abuse by daughters-in-law.
AIMPF members include forensic experts, lawyers, doctors, teachers, other professionals and housewives.
“It has been statistically established that mothers-in-law are unnecessarily maligned and subjected to judgmental attitudes by society. On television, we are shown as vamps, while in reality we are the victims,” said coordinator Neena Dhulia.
(more…)
Tags: cruel woman, Daughter-in-Law, daughters in law, domestic violence, family health survey, forensic experts, gulf times, Indian Family, indian tv, judgmental attitudes, local newspapers, Marriage, mother-in-law, mothers in law, national family health survey, prohibition laws, Society, times of india, times of india newspaper, tv soap operas, violence against women, Women, Women's Rights
06 Sep 09 Moms-in-law of the world unite…
Chennai: After woeful wives and harassed husbands, it’s the turn of mothers-in-law to form an organisation. More than 500 of them from across the country will come together in Bangalore to launch the All-India Mothers-in-law Protection Forum (AIMPF) on Sunday.
For some, it will provide a forum to be heard; for others, it is to break the ‘cruel woman’ stereotype that TV soaps have been reinforcing. So varied is the constitution of the forum that it has as members a university teacher from Chennai, a forensic expert from Delhi and a surgeon from Karnataka.
“In TV dramas, we are the villains; in real life, we are the victims,” said Nalini (name changed), a homemaker from Chennai, who has joined the AIMPF. The organization is being supported by the Save India Family Foundation (SIFF), a Bangalore-based NGO working for ‘harassed husbands’.
So will the AIMPF protect mothers-in-law only from their daughtersin-law and not sons-in-law? “Mostly the women are accused and dragged to court by their daughters-in-law. So we are focussing only on them. The organization is not against anyone; it is for mothers-in-law,” said SIFF public relations officer Virag Dhulia.
The forum plans to use its website, www.aimpf.org, to host discussions and debates. “The forum will take up issues, including amendments to inheritance laws and the Domestic Violence Act,” SIFF convenor Manoj David said.
Some AIMPF members TOI spoke to had horror tales to narrate. One said that whenever she went inside the bath to shower, her daughter- in-law would turn on the geyser from outside.
Supporters of the forum said that though there were several incidents of mothers-in-law torturing their daughters-in-law, there were also many mothers-in-law who silently bore the brunt of domestic violence. “There are several mothers-in-law who are victimised and threatened with Section 498 (a) of the IPC, which speaks of up to three years’ imprisonment for husband’s relatives in dowry harassment cases,” said Virag.
Tags: bangalore india, cruel woman, Daughter-in-Law, daughters in law, domestic violence, domestic violence act, forensic expert, horror tales, host discussions, Indian Family, inheritance laws, manoj, many mothers, Marriage, mother-in-law, mothers in law, tv dramas, tv soaps, university teacher, violence against women, virag, Women, Women's Rights
