REASON EXPOSED

The social and economic status of women can be a dire result of violence. Gender violence represents an expression of human behaviors and it is rooted in society. Traditional attitudes by which women are regarded as subordinate to men involving violence, such as family violence and abuse, forced marriage, dowry death, acid attack and female circumcision. Such prejudices may justify gender-based violence as a form of protection of women [9]. The effect of such violence on physical and mental integrity of women is to deprive them of an equal enjoyment and knowledge of human right and fundamental freedom. The immediate causes of violence vary from any type of violence; there are different causes for different types of violence. However, causes can be categorized as immediate, intermediary and underlying as discussed below:

Immediate causes of violence

Acid assault: Male ego and problems in dealing with rejection is another important cause of acid throwing. Refusal of love (44 cases), marriage proposals and family disputes (33 cases) are three major causes of such type of violence. After marriage when dowry demands are not fulfilled, brides may fall victim of acid throwing. In 88 cases reasons for acid attack are unknown. Other causes of acid throwing include family dispute, failure to misappropriate of wife’s wealth, sterility, and getting divorced from wife, refusal of sexual relationship, failure to kidnap, the woman not being agreeable to prostitution and a woman’s refusal to agree with husband’s second marriage .

Community violence: There are diversified reasons for community violence. It depends on attitudes of the local elites and other religious persons. Pre-marital pregnancy and pre-marital and extra-marital sexual relationship was found tobe the major cause of community violence .

Murders: Enmity, political differences and land disputes were the main causes for male murder case followed by dacoits and family feuds. Other causes included dispute on uprooting a beam tree, toll collecting, and dispute over lending money, cheating while distributing goods, dispute on a sugar cane field and quarrels. On the other hand, dowry demand, family feud and rape and failure to rape were the major causes of female murder case .