PUNJAB is home to a large number of deserted brides. This has been known for long. Incidents involving women abandoned by their NRI husbands have come to light far too often and created much consternation. However, what is more shocking is that despite media attention and right noises made by authorities concerned, the numbers have been steadily rising. Even though the government has been planning strict laws to bring succour to wives left in the lurch, a composite law to address the concerns of NRI brides is still awaited.
Not surprisingly, the need for a separate law was reiterated at a seminar organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in New Delhi. In fact, the NCW which set up a special NRI cell in 2009 and has been receiving complaints of desertion, has been demanding a separate law to cover NRI affairs, particularly with regard to matrimonial disputes, maintenance of women and children, ex-party divorce and alimony, for quite some time. The Ministry of Women and Child Development had also mooted the idea of a second passport for NRI wives which would at least enable them to return home. The recent initiative of the passport office in Jalandhar to impound passports of NRIs accused of sham marriages too is in the fitness of things.
However, it must be understood that the problems of NRI wives, which have been driven home time and again both at seminars and through individual efforts of men like Lok Bhalai Party Chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, has a social angle too. In Punjab where obsession for migrating to foreign lands often borders on mania, parents too must own up responsibility. While the conduct of NRI men who trap unsuspecting women in fraudulent marriages cannot be condoned, parents too must check the antecedents of prospective NRI grooms thoroughly and must not show undue haste in marrying off their daughters without proper verification. To ameliorate the lot of women taken for a ride by their unscrupulous husbands, legal action has to be combined with awareness drives and affirmative action on the part of the family.
Not surprisingly, the need for a separate law was reiterated at a seminar organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in New Delhi. In fact, the NCW which set up a special NRI cell in 2009 and has been receiving complaints of desertion, has been demanding a separate law to cover NRI affairs, particularly with regard to matrimonial disputes, maintenance of women and children, ex-party divorce and alimony, for quite some time. The Ministry of Women and Child Development had also mooted the idea of a second passport for NRI wives which would at least enable them to return home. The recent initiative of the passport office in Jalandhar to impound passports of NRIs accused of sham marriages too is in the fitness of things.
However, it must be understood that the problems of NRI wives, which have been driven home time and again both at seminars and through individual efforts of men like Lok Bhalai Party Chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, has a social angle too. In Punjab where obsession for migrating to foreign lands often borders on mania, parents too must own up responsibility. While the conduct of NRI men who trap unsuspecting women in fraudulent marriages cannot be condoned, parents too must check the antecedents of prospective NRI grooms thoroughly and must not show undue haste in marrying off their daughters without proper verification. To ameliorate the lot of women taken for a ride by their unscrupulous husbands, legal action has to be combined with awareness drives and affirmative action on the part of the family.
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