Gowramma8217;s mantra for life 8212; Fight domestic violence

BANGALORE, SEPT 19: She got married at 18. Became a mother at 19. Walked out of her husband's home at 20.Her sub-inspector husband, accor...

BANGALORE, SEPT 19: She got married at 18. Became a mother at 19. Walked out of her husband8217;s home at 20.

Her sub-inspector husband, according to V Gowramma, used to physically and mentally torture her8217; in their brief stint together. After a 10-year court battle, she succeeded in getting him suspended from the Police Department.

On Sept 9 this year, the now 37-year-old Gowramma became the 1998 Neerja Bhanot Heroine8217; 8212; a Bravery award instituted in 1988 by the family of the late Neerja Bhanot. Bhanot, a Pan Am air hostess, was shot dead in 1986 when a Mumbai-New York plane was hijacked.

Gowramma was presented the award at Chandigarh in recognition of my struggle for justice in crimes against women,8217; she told this newspaper. No small feat for a woman who has studied only up to SSLC. But then Gowramma, who has a 18-year old married daughter Rekha, has never held back from attempting the impossible.

8220;When I first lodged a complaint against my husband, his department shielded him. I had to walk in andout of family courts for 10 years. But I persevered and got him suspended from his post,8221; she said. The 10-year court battle took her to Vimochana 8211;the city-based womens8217; activist group.

8220;That was in 1988. Working with other victims of domestic violence made me vow that I had to get them justice,8221; she said. She realised that most victims preferred to keep quiet 8212; either for fear of social stigma or because their families preferred quick settlements8217;. 8220;But keeping quiet merely encouraged the perpetrators. I decided that the latter had to pay for their deeds,8221; she said.

In 1997, Vimochana began to study the unnatural deaths of married women in the state. 8220;Every month in Bangalore, 60 to 80 young women died of stove bursts8217; and other such incidents,8221; she said. The study, she explained, focused on procedural lapses in investigations and highlighted the legal loopholes that helped the accused get away. And it led to Vimochana8217;s Truth Commission for Women in Bangalore last month. Besides, the groupcompiled a manual of guidelines to be followed in such cases. But it is yet to be published.

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Dealing with marital violence has, in a way, prejudiced Gowramma against marriage and men. 8220;I feel that 75 per cent of men are bad. At the same time, my fight is not against men alone. I want our system and its prejudices to change,8221; she said. The award carries a cash amount of Rs 1.5 lakh, a citation and a trophy. 8220;I will put Rs 50,000 in a fixed deposit at a quarterly interest of Rs 1,372 which amount will be used to educate the children of burn victims,8221; she says.