The country needs stringent legislation to put an end to the so-called ‘honour killings’, a blot on democratic society, opined a round-table conference organised by the CPI(M)-led Kula Vivaksha Porata Samiti and the All India Democratic Women's Association. The killing of a woman by her parents at Usarapenta, near Palamaner, in Chittoor district recently for marrying a Dalit man was not an isolated one as young women’s right to marry the men of their choices were suppressed in the name of customs and traditions across the country, delegates said. The present Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC) and the Indian Evidence Act were inadequate to provide deterrent punishment to perpetrators of such crimes, KVPS district secretary B. Raghuram felt. ‘Honour’ crimes, in fact a misnomer as they were an assault on women's autonomy, AIDWA Prakasam district secretary Manwar Sultana said. ‘Legal protection needed’Couples who had eloped often landed in trouble as parents unwilling to reconcile with their wards’ decision often register rape cases against the man concerned, Dalit Hakkula Porata Sangam State secretary Karavati Subba Rao lamented, adding that such couples should be provided legal protection as they were subjected to social and economic boycott.

Source: The Hindu July 18, 2019 05:26 UTC