The Indian Judiciary System sure has substantial laws for the protection of women, but where does one go when these laws are not used as shields, but as weapons?
Humanity proclaims that justice is the right of every individual, regardless of their gender, caste, social status. But what steps have we taken to ensure that? Let’s address this phenomenon that needs acknowledging but is also just as much overlooked by talking about issues faced by Men- The forgotten gender.
India’s Sons, a documentary that brings forward the anecdotes of false rape case survivors. It’s a film that traces journey, ordeals and escapes of innocent men who were falsely accused of rape charges. This documentary aims to start a dialogue over misuse of rape laws and reveal the unsaid truth behind India’s title of Rape Capital.
A statistical report compiled after a survey showed that out of the total rape charges filed, 53% of them were false accusations. There was a case in which, the girl, willingly eloped with her boyfriend and when she came back, the family had filed rape charges against the boy. In 2012, out of the total rape cases which were filed in Delhi, the acquittal rate (acquittal- not guilty of a crime) was 46% but after the horrifying case of Nirbhaya, when the rape laws were amended, the acquittal rate went up to 70%. Just imagine, out of 100 cases of rape accusations against men, 70 of them were in fact false. We as youngsters feel so frustrated when we are wrongfully or mistakenly accused of something we didn’t do during typical conflicts and teenage drama. Visualise the trauma one goes through when he is falsely accused of such heinous crime. One loses all respect in society, his job, his social status. Sometimes their own family disowns them. These men see no way out but to kill themselves. And sometimes they even spend decades in jail.
Rape is a heinous crime, but if someone is falsely accused of it, it’s an equally inhuman manifestation. If this issue is still not that sensitive to you and you believe that this suffering of innocent men is a price paid for the protection of women (if you’re a Pseudo-Feminist) then let’s familiarise you with the further harsh truth. When an innocent man is accused of such crimes, the humiliation and punishment is not only faced by him but also by his 18-year-old sister and his 60-year-old mother.
Apart from this, Section 498(a) of the Indian Penal Code, a law made with very noble motives to prevent violence and cruelty faced by married women. 35 years down the lane, Today, section 498(a) is being known as the law that’s been most misused in the history of jurisprudence. Barely 18% of the number of people accused under this law are actually found guilty. I am certain there would be a necessity for evidence of this statistic because we’re talking about men. When we talk about women, we don’t really need to give evidence.
There was once a man who had a 2-year-old son from a 6-year-old marriage. He had a DNA test conducted on his son due to certain suspicions. The next day he was arrested under the act of dowry reported by his wife when she found out about the test. Certainly, the results showed he was not the father of his child. So the child belonged to somebody else and his wife put him behind bars. There have been cases where people were accused of being incriminated in sexual harassment at the workplace because the woman didn’t get a good appraisal so she filed charges against her superior. Writers of various crime serials that are shown on television these days were asked, “Why don’t you televise cases in which the accused men were later proven innocent?” To which they answered, “When we show such episodes, the TRP doesn’t go that high. People don’t see it as an issue and don’t consider it as painful and worthy.”
While it’s a good sign that we have all these laws for the protection of India’s Daughters, why to disregard India’s sons, who might not be dead but are just existing and waiting to be buried because of crimes they did not commit.
Why should you care?
“If the cry of a wolf is made too often as a prank, assistance may not be available when an actual wolf appears” – Supreme Court of India.
Source: Martyrs of Marriage by Deepika Narayan.
Feature Image Credits: Milaap
Avni Dhawan
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