Govt taking steps to set up special courts for dowry harassment, attacks on women: Kerala CM Vijayan

Mr. Vijayan said that even educated persons are involved in the giving and taking of dowry, even though there are anti-dowry laws in existence

The State Government has taken steps for the setting up of special courts for handling cases related to dowry harassment and attacks against women, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the assembly on Wednesday. The Advocate General has held discussions with the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, following which there was an in-principle agreement for the proposal. In reply to a question from N.A. Nellikkunnu MLA, Mr. Vijayan said that 100 cases of deaths or suicides related to dowry harassment were reported in the state from 2011 to 2016, while 54 such cases were reported from 2016 to 2021. In the past two years, there were six cases each. The State Government is working towards a situation where not a single death is caused due to this reason, he said. On Mr. Nellikkunnu’s comment that the situation in the state regarding women’s safety had gotten so worse that even the Governor had to observe a day-long fast to raise the issue, Mr. Vijayan said that the MLA is trying to misinterpret the intentions of the Governor’s fast, which was a Gandhian way of creating awareness in the society. The Governor himself had made this clear, he said.