KOCHI: Even as dowry claimed yet another woman’s life in the state on Tuesday, the public seems oblivious to the presence of the government machinery to prevent such extreme steps. After the death of 22-year-old Vismaya V Nair who was driven to suicide due to constant dowry and mental harassment by her husband Kiran Kumar, the state government appointed dowry prohibition officers in all districts. But the death by suicide of law student Mofiya Praveen of Edayapuram near Aluva has brought to light the reality that not many are aware of such a system in place.
Since the post was created around three months back, the Ernakulam district office has been approached by only six women seeking help. “Recurrence of these incidents show that more proactive steps need to be taken in this direction,” said Indira Rajan, who filed an anti-dowry PIL at the High Court after Vismaya’s death.
She said people need to be made aware of whom to approach. “The police station is not the avenue. It is the state’s responsibility to spread awareness about the presence of such an office that caters specifically to dowry and domestic violence issues,” she added.
“I came to realise the existence of such an office only because I was doing some research as part of the anti-dowry PIL that I was filing in the Kerala High Court. Earlier, there were just three dowry prohibition offices in the state. They were in Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram regions. After the High Court sought a reply from the state government as to why no officers had been posted to these offices since 2017, it did away with the zonal offices and appointed one officer in each district,” she said.
Another declaration made by the government was to observe November 26 as Dowry Prohibition Day in the state. “As a part of the day, two-week-long programmes have been planned,” said Premna Sankar, district women and child officer-cum-dowry prohibition officer. One important part of the programme will be spreading awareness about the existence of such an office and also the services rendered by it, she added.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA’s 24x7 helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance)
Lives snuffed out by dowry
Nov 23, 2021 21-year-old Mofiya Praveen Dilshad, a third-year LLB student from Edayapuram, Aluva, died by suicide after being harassed by husband and mother-in-law
June 21, 2021 22-year-old Vismaya R Nair, a final-year BAMS student from Kollam died by suicide after being harassed by her husband for dowry
June 22, 2021: 24-year-old Archana’s body was found in the rented house where she and her husband Suresh had been living at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram
June 22, 2021: 19-year-old Suchitra, wife of soldier Vishnu, was found hanging in the bedroom of her in-laws’ house at Vallikunnam in Alappuzha district
May 7, 2020 25-year-old Uthra died her bedroom after she a snake was made to bite her by her husband Sooraj S Kumar