KOCHI: On Wednesday, a 27-year-old woman who was denied entry to her husband’s house was rescued by women’s commission officials, district legal services authority (DLSA) and others jointly.
Shiji Shivaji, a member of, Kerala Women’s Commission said though the court had ruled in favour of the young woman, permitting her to live in her husband’s house, she was forced to stand outside. “Her husband and family had locked up the gate and left. The young woman had nowhere to go and was standing in front of the locked house,” she said.
This is not a first or an isolated case, adds the official. “Such cases, where the complainants are at the receiving end of domestic cruelty by husbands and in-laws despite obtaining favourable protection or separation orders from the court, are on the rise. Ernakulam district has one of the highest numbers of cases followed by Palakkad,” she said. The young woman was found to be physically weak when rescued and was shifted to a shelter home by the DLSA authorities,” said Shiji.
According to Shiji, the young woman, a Kayankulam-native, was abandoned by her parents. She also lost her grandmother, who was her primary caretaker. The woman had allegedly approached the police, who ignored her plight. “The woman had a registered marriage and was living with her husband in a rented house at Edathalal, Aluva. However, after a few months, the man ditched her and left with all her money and savings. She alleges that the man also took loans in her name and physically assaulted her,” said the DLSA officials.
Her health deteriorated due to the assaults. After leaving the woman, the husband started living with his parents in their house at Kaloor Bank Road. The woman, who had to leave the rented house after she became unable to pay the rent, started living on the terrace of her husband’s house in Kaloor. According to Shiji, the woman was not getting proper food either.