A placard declaring "Men are not ATM machines”.
A caricature of a woman depicted as a donkey being carried on her “husband’s” back.
A poster depicting a lock around a man’s pelvic region with the words “In protest against proposed marital rape – Penis Strike” plastered on top.
These were some of the visuals on display at the “satyagraha for men” held in Delhi on Saturday. A little over 100 people had gathered at Jantar Mantar at the third such “satyagraha” – a form of non-violent resistance.
“Bharan-poshan ke liye gandi patni dwara pati par farzi case (Dirty wife files fake case against husband for maintenance)”, “Gadho ke parivaar mein parhi-likhi gadhi (An educated donkey in a family of donkeys)” is how a poster at the “satyagraha” addressed a married woman portrayed as a female donkey.
“Feminists are all foreign-funded,” claimed Anupam Goswami, a lawyer and a self-proclaimed men’s rights activist. Goswami was one of the attendees at the “satyagraha,” which was held in the memory of Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence engineer Atul Subhash, who died by suicide last year in December, alleging harassment from his estranged wife and her family members.
Goswami called the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder a “false case” that was “weaponised by feminists” even as he failed to share any evidence to back his claims. It is pertinent to note that four men were found guilty by the courts and sentenced to death in 2020 for the gruesome crime.
“The police, judiciary and the media are all controlled by feminists,” Goswami claimed. “Everyday 300 husbands are burned alive but the police don't do anything.”
Goswami's outlandish claims about feminists were amplified from the stage at the “satygraha”. “They [feminists] call the shots in the judiciary, policymaking and in the police…There is a full system behind them,” proclaimed Wasif Ali on the microphone. Ali is one of the founding members of Save India Family collective – the organiser of the event.
What do the ‘satyagrahis’ want?
Founded in 2005, Save India Family, or SIF, has grown into a loose collective of activists, lawyers, and affected men who campaign against “anti-male bias” in Indian laws.
The attendees at the SIF-organised event were a mix of young male professionals, elderly men, and even included a few women.
“Women have laws in their favour and that is fine. But men also deserve some protections,” Dr Parveen Maan, one of the female attendees, told Newslaundry. A volunteer with the men’s rights group Awaaz Power of Men, Maan said that her concern for the future is what made her join the movement against “anti-male bias” in the law. “I have a son. Nothing has happened yet, but in the future, something could happen to him, or to someone else’s brother or father,” she said.
As she started talking to this reporter about the importance of being at the “satyagraha”, a man approached Maan and screamed at her for speaking on behalf of SIF, something she had not done throughout the conversation.
Other SIF-affiliated men approached this reporter and insisted Newslaundry only spoke to individuals vetted by them. “We are not responsible for what others say,” they said.
In the 20 years of its existence, SIF has lobbied for reforms in family law, mandatory punishment for filing “false cases”, and recognition of alleged male victims of domestic violence. It also raises awareness about rise in male suicides.
At the heart of SIF’s “satyagraha for men” is the demand for legal accountability in cases where section 498A of the Indian Penal Code has been allegedly misused. This IPC section criminalized cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a married woman and was invoked in cases of domestic violence against women. [It is section 85 of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita that deals with cruelty by husband or his relatives now.]
Protestors called for punitive action against individuals who allegedly file false cases under the IPC provision, which was originally introduced in 1983 to address dowry-related violence.
“When this law was introduced, women were indeed being abused, harassed and assaulted. That’s why this protection was created,” said Dr Sandeep Gohe, a representative of Bhai Bhopal, the Madhya Pradesh chapter of SIF. Gohe claimed that as over time women became more empowered, some began “exploiting loopholes in the law”. “Even in minor disputes, a woman can threaten to dial 100 [police helpline] and get a man arrested, irrespective of whether he is at fault or not,” he further claimed.
Present at the event was also Bikas Modi, the younger brother of Atul Subash, whose tragic death had prompted huge social media uproar and widespread media coverage around alleged “anti-male bias” in laws.
Modi called for existing laws to be made gender-neutral. “We want existing laws to be amended," he insisted. Modi said he was not against women-centric laws but wanted laws centred around men too. “Women can seek refuge in anti-domestic violence laws, and men should be able to as well.”
In his alleged suicide note, Bikas’s brother Atul had accused his estranged wife Nikita Singhania, and her family, of filing eight “fake” cases including those of harassment for dowry, attempt to murder, and financial exploitation, and a domestic violence case under section 498A.
According to Bikas, the “anti-male bias” was not just limited to laws but extended to other realms as well. “While we [men] pay taxes, it is women who benefit from schemes like the Ladli Behan Yojna,” he said. “Why can’t there be such schemes for men?”
‘Lack of institutional mechanisms for male victims’
Echoing Bikas’s demand, SIF’s Dr Sandeep Gohe also questioned the alleged lack of institutional mechanisms for male victims. “There are commissions for women, children, the environment – even for animals. But there’s no such national body for men,” he said. “If a man is genuinely being harassed, where does he go?”
In the wake of Subhash’s death, men’s rights activists or MRAs have blamed matrimonial disputes for rising increased number of male suicides. The death of 40-year-old businessman Puneet Khurana, who died by suicide alleging mental harassment by his wife and in-laws, further galvanised the campaign by MRAs against the “legal victimisation” of men in domestic disputes.
“[Male] suicides [due to matrimonial dispute] have been happening for the longest time, but this issue was only being covered by regional media. Now that mainstream media is reporting on this issue as well, we wanted to hold this satyagraha” said Amit Lakhani, president of Delhi chapter of Men’s Welfare Trust, one of the many NGOs that comes under the Save India Family collective. Lakhani’s Men’s Welfare Trust is one of the petitioners opposing the criminalisation of marital rape.
While it is true that, as per data maintained by National Crime Records Bureau, over the past eight years, almost one lakh men have died by suicide each year, compared to 43,314 women, there is more than meets the eye. According to NCRB, “family problems” account for 23.06 percent of all suicides, making it the leading cause behind suicides across genders. But this category remains broad and undefined, and encompasses a wide range of issues beyond matrimonial conflict. (Read this analysis for more details.)
Meanwhile, SIF’s call at Jantar Mantar demanding special policies for men, resisting alleged misuse of anti-dowry, anti-domestic violence laws was attended by people from across the country, the collective said.
A member of SIF’s Visakhapatnam chapter, Indana Sivakumara had covered nearly 1,800 km on his motorcycle to join the “satyagraha” in Delhi. Sivakumara calls himself a “victim” of section 498A and said he has been fighting a court battle for nearly a decade.
SIF’s claims about misuse of anti-domestic violence laws have, however, been challenged by legal experts.
“Of course there are instances of misuse and that is true for any law. But there’s a reason why section 498A was inserted into the penal code,” senior advocate Aparna Bhatt told Newslaundry. “Very severe forms of cruelty were being inflicted on women by their husbands and in-laws. Just because some may have misused it doesn’t take away from the fact that many women are still subjected to violence,” she said.
But participants at the “satyagraha for men” insist they are fighting for “equality”. “Our Constitution promises equality before the law, but when it comes to men facing domestic violence, sexual harassment, or spousal cruelty, there is no protection – just because they are men,” Lakhani of the Men’s Trust Welfare claimed.
Lakhani also demanded that a national helpline for men should be set up to prevent male suicides due to matrimonial issues. “Currently there is no national helpline for men. Our organisation [Men’s Trust Welfare] has launched a helpline that is filling this gap. We receive 3000-4000 calls on an average from men in distress”, he said.
As Lakhani spoke of men in distress, men affiliated with different men’s right groups marched around with posters calling section 498A “legal terrorism.” The poster also mocked a married woman for being “modern,” while another set of banners superimposed a crocodile to a woman’s face and ridiculed her for portraying herself as “weak.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide, we urge you to seek help. Please call one of the helpline numbers listed here or contact a mental health professional.
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