Innocent until proven guilty

Rama Kashyap

“Woh jail ki hawa kha raha hai. Maine use jhute dowry case mei andar karwaya hai.”

I was aghast after hearing it from the mouth of a young woman, whom I was meeting for the first time. She, just a casual acquaintance, had no qualms in telling me that her husband was cooling his heels in the jail. Rather, she was boasting of getting him implicated in a false dowry case to teach him a lesson. What a blatant misuse of the Dowry Act, I mused.

The Dowry Act is a progressive legislation meant to protect women but to use it as a weapon to settle any marital discord is unjust and deplorable. There are instances when the husband, along with his family, is subjected to exploitation. The family of my paternal aunt suffered tremendously because of a false dowry case slapped against them. It was a case of disharmony between my cousin and his wife but the entire family was dragged into a false dowry case.

It is indeed sad that the another Act meant to shield women against harassment became a tool to exploit the men. Agreed, many men are vicious, but not all women are virtuous. There are cases when the relationship between two consenting adults turns sour and the woman accuses the man of rape. Is it fair?

Meanwhile, the #MeToo movement, which has given an opportunity to the women to air their grievances, should be lauded. I am glad that many successful women have come out in the open for justice. They have taken up the challenge to expose the black sheep, fight their predators who violated them in the past, instilling a sense of fear in the hearts and minds of wrongdoers. The lecherous men who try to take an advantage of their position, misbehave with women, must be named and shamed but what if an innocent man is framed. A man is deemed to be a criminal the moment a female points a finger at him. Any wrong allegation or a false accusation can wreck the reputation, career and life of an innocent man, affecting the lives of his kin as well.

The #MeToo movement is a revolt against the predatory culture, a clear and strong message to the wayward men to mend their ways. It is capable of triggering a positive change in the behaviour of men at workplace and can go a long way in creating an enabling, healthy environment for women to work but it will get derailed if it is used for male bashing in general.

While aiming at women empowerment, the laws that protect them should be handled with caution. These should not be used to frame innocent men just to settle the score. The motto should be: No woman should be harassed at home or workplace, but let no innocent man be framed.