INDIA, February 19, 2001: Every six hours somewhere in India a young married women is burnt alive, beaten to death, or driven to commit suicide. Lawyer and social activist, Indira Jaisingh, who heads the Women’s Legal Aid Center in Delhi, has been campaigning for a new law to deal with violence in the home. At least 20 percent of married women between the ages of 15 and 49 experience domestic violence, many of them on a continual basis. Activists say a major source of concern in India is that society has failed to bring about strong social sanctions against violent men. A recent survey by the International Institute for Population Studies, showed that 56 percent of Indian women believed wife beating to be justified in certain circumstances. Currently, there is no law in India dealing specifically with domestic violence.
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