Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) rescued a 24 year old woman who was held captive by her parents for last three years in national Capital. DCW had received a complaint regarding the woman from her husband.
The husband of Surekha (name changed), had written an email to the chairperson of DCW, Swati Maliwal, requesting for help as the parents of his wife were not allowing her to live with her husband who she had married three years ago.
“In his complaint the man said that Surekha’s parents did not consider her marriage to him as proper despite both being of legal age and having papers to prove their marriage.
He and Surekha were in a relationship for the last six years and had got married three years back. Suspecting the relationship, the parents had imposed a curfew on Surekha.
They refused to allow her to go out of the house alone and virtually kept her as a captive in the house,” said a DCW official.
“A team from DCW along with local police station went to the house of Surekha’s parents. They found the victim in a bad condition - she was frequently beaten up and kept in a room alone,” said the official.
“Crying profusely, the victim said that all she wanted was to be with her husband. The parents and extended family of the girl tried to forestall the DCW team by calling a couple of lawyers who argued against the sanctity of the marriage. After much altercation, the parents were finally convinced that they had no choice but to let the girl go to the police station, where she was handed over to her husband after due paperwork. Saying that she does not wish to cause more difficulties for her parents, Surekha refused to file a case against them for the torture inflicted on her,” said the DCW official.
Surekha was rescued on 13 March. A few days after the rescue, Surekha was approached by DCW to check her well-being. She confirmed she was living happily with her husband and her parents had not troubled the couple in any way. DCW has sought protection for the couple from Delhi Police.
“It’s a shame that even in today’s day and age, parents torture their own children and force their will on them. We have seen several cases where parents resort to cruel means like physical abuse, isolation, starvation and even murder to make their daughter comply with their will and marry elsewhere.
They fail to realise that not only is this illegal but extremely immoral,” said Swati Maliwal, Chairperson, DCW.