Man forced to marry girlfriend

Women account for 30% liquor customers

CHENNAI/BANGALORE: It’s 7 pm on a Friday and on her way back from office, Harini Mathur Singh, 29, makes a pit stop at the Spencer’s store on Bangalore’s M G Road. In her trolley: potato chips, salted peanuts, microwave popcorn, two bottles of Shiraz, vodka and a few cans of beer. “It’s girls’ night at my place today,” said the HR professional at an IT company. “My friends are coming over and we unwind over movies and drinks.”

Women today account for almost 30% of liquor customers at the 15 Spencer’s stores across the country. Their pick: wines and white spirits. “In the past year alone, we have seen a growth of 40% in women buying liquor from our stores,” said Mohit Kampani, V-P (merchandising, food and FMCG) of RPG Retail, which runs the Spencer’s chain.

A dipstick survey of traditional liquor outlets by AZ Research Partners, a marketing consultancy firm, revealed that female buyers were literally non-existent. Not surprising, since at non-department liquor outlets women are at risk of being stared down and teased. With the advent of branded liquor retail stores and dedicated liquor counters at supermarkets, the number of women buyers has increased to 10-12%, over the past few years.

There were only a few standalone stores like Not Just Wine and Cheese that offered liquor in premium ambience, while only an odd store like Thoms sold alcoholic beverages alongside groceries and bakery products in Bangalore. Now, more like FoodWorld Gourmet and United Breweries’ Spiritz & More are joining the fray.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/More-women-at-ease-shopping-for-liquor/articleshow/6277941.cms

http://wp.me/plC3a-da

Jail bharo

Jail Bharo Andolan

JAIL BHARO!!!

DOWRY IS NOT A CRIME…BEING A MAN OR HIS KIN IS!

For more info, call 9704683163, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.

All India Men’s Welfare Association (http://aimwa.in)

Thousands of husbands and their families are arrested every year, without evidence or investigation, under IPC Sections 498A, 304B, Dowry Prohibition Act, and related wife-centric laws.

Anti-dowry laws are among the most abused laws in India:

• The President of India, High Courts of various States, the Supreme Court of India and the World Health Organization have noted the misuse of dowry laws.

• National Human Rights Commission has issued guidelines to stop unnecessary arrests.

• The Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, issued standing instructions through a memo vide No.L&O/M6/1315/2002 to check arbitrary arrests.

• The AP Police Dept. has a web page entitled “Abuse of 498A” on their Department website.

• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory to all the State Governments and Union Territories on checking the misuse of Section 498A.

BUT…

Abuse of police powers continues;

Unnecessary arrests have only been increasing in the State;

Innocent citizens are illegally detained, humiliated, subjected to mental and physical torture;

Blackmail and extortion have become a daily business;

…all in the name of “protecting women from cruelty and harassment”.

UNDERSTAND:

• The real motive behind these arrests is to terrorize you and extort money from you under

the threat of imprisonment and long-drawn legal battles.

• The Government of India is trivializing our pleas to stop arbitrary arrests of citizens under

anti-dowry laws.

• The Government is making new laws (sexual assault, work place harassment, acid attacks

etc.) which stress on immediate arrest of men upon mere accusations made by women.

REMEMBER:

􀂾 Arrest is inevitable for any man facing allegations of abuse or assault.

􀂾 Be prepared to go to jail along with your family even if you committed no crime!

􀂾 Free yourself from the fear of jail!

􀂾 Get over the humiliation and suffering of being dragged into the streets!

􀂾 Do not drive yourself into depression, ruin your health or end your own life!

􀂾 Do not give in to blackmail and extortion!

􀂾 Learn about your human, constitutional and legal rights!

􀂾 Fight back for your honour, dignity and justice!

IF THEY WON’T MAKE 498A GO AWAY, LET’S MAKE THE FEAR GO AWAY!

Jail bharo! Jail bharo! Giraftaaree se nahee daro!

Young NRI men in UK being forced into marriage

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100701/1247/twl-young-nri-men-in-uk-being-forced-int_1.html

British officials have been dealing with several cases of young Indian-origin women being forced into marriages against their will, but recent cases show a sharp increase of men facing such ordeals.

Britain has set up a Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) that deals with cases of British citizens being forcibly taken to the Indian sub-continent and married against their will for cultural, immigration or family reasons.

The unit has rescued several young women, but it is estimated that most cases go unreported. Latest figures show that during the last year, the unit registered a 65 per cent rise in the number of calls from men.

The unit received the most calls from men linked to Pakistan, followed by India and Bangladesh. It also received calls from British men with links to the Middle East, Africa and eastern Europe.

A spokesman said: “The calls we receive are the tip of the iceberg. It now seems likely that men account for one in five of all the forced marriages that take place to British citizens.”

In June, the FMU took a call from a young man in Leicester whose family had allegedly locked him in his bedroom after discovering that he was gay.

He told the FMU that his family were downstairs, discussing whether to take him to India and either kill him, abandon him there or marry him off.

Last year, the FMU gave advice and support to 1,682 men and women regarding suspected forced marriage.

More than 220 calls and emails involved male victims, up from 134 in 2008. As of the end of May this year, there have been 88 calls from men for help.

Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said: “Boys and men who are forced into marriage find it harder to ask for help than women, but we are urging males affected by forced marriage to speak out and seek the help that is available to them.”

He added: “Of course, women make up the majority of forced marriage victims, and over 1,400 reports of women facing this abuse were dealt with by the FMU last year.

But people often don’t realise that men can be victims of forced marriage too.”

http://wp.me/plC3a-cV

Harassed by wife, man seeks official nod to end life

Ahmedabad: It may sound bizarre, but it is true. A 40-year-old man in Kheda district has sought permission from authorities in the state to end his life, alleging that he is not able to carry on with life in the face of constant harassment being meted out by his wife.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ties-that-kill-harassed-by-wife-man-seeks-official-nod-to-end-life_1399684

Father’s day protest 19 June 2010

Daughter in law robs inlaws of 51 lacs

Husband finds solution to false 498a

Husband finds better solution to false 498a – kills four of wife’s family

http://wp.me/plC3a-cJ

Balm for men

ASK someone about the problems of women, and a list would emerge that would never seem to end. Ask about men’s problems, and you see only blank faces. Does that mean that men do not have any problem? Or is it that there is no awareness amongst the general public? Or is it just that men are simply taken for granted? If Uma Challa had her way, she would strive to bring in changes.

The All-India Men’s Welfare Association wants laws to be enacted to protect men from harassment

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100523/spectrum/main4.htm

Wife and in-laws get 5 yrs prison