Jun 10 2008
NonProfit Group Saheli Helps Police Handle South Asian Abuse
Although Saheli is doing what’s right here (and we fully commend them for taking the steps necessary to educate the Boston Police), there are some things within this article that really struck us as odd as it relates to the South Asian community and its women.
First, the background of this topic: the Nonprofit Group Saheli has been funded by the US Justice Department to help the Boston Police Department understand the cultures and norms of the South Asian community. Specifically, this Women’s group is educating the Boston Police on how to handle South Asian domestic violence situations.
Within the article, published by the Boston Globe, a Saheli member hints that Indian men do not understand that abusing their wives is illegal in the United States. Read the excerpt below:
According to Meena Sonea Hewett, a Saheli member who led the training, domestic violence was outlawed in India only three years ago - but enforcement remains weak. Many Indian men in the United States may not understand that they could be arrested for abusing their wives, she told the officers.
I don’t care where you’re from, but isn’t beating your wife unacceptable no matter where you are? Maybe we’re missing something here.
Secondly, what really astonished us was the fact that the article mentioned that Indian women do not want the men arrested because they fear being divorced. Therefore, when a police officer arrives at a domestic violence situation, Saheli recommends that the wives are not taken away from their husband or the husband be not put in jail.
Because some immigrant wives depend on their marriage for their legal status in the United States, presenters encouraged police to consider options other than arrest when responding to domestic violence in Indian households.
“The South Asian women don’t want to come out of the relationship. They don’t want divorce. They want the abuse to stop,” Shah said at the training session.
An alternative to arrest is a “no-abuse order,” that works like a threat by letting a man know police will be more involved if the abuse does not stop.
This strategy came as a bit of a surprise for Lieutenant Gregory Skehan.
Yes, Lieutenant, surprising isn’t it?. Read full article.
Some say this article by the Boston globe shows a step in the right direction in the empowerment of South Asian women. Others say that this is just another example that shows how backwards our culture is in regards to women. What do you say?
For more information on Saheli, please visit the Saheli Website. The SABAsearch Blog Staff would like to honor them for all of their hard work and efforts to help the South Asian women of our community.
South Asian women are becoming more educated even within India. Nowadays, South Asian women are becoming more independant and even obtaining their own housing in cities like Mumbai and Delhi.
Still, however, there will still be those South Asian women who marry into a family for status or citizenship. I still believe though that these South Asian women deserve better than to be beat just because they want to maintain their citizenship or status. This is what pulls down our community, because essentially, these men are entrapping these women based on the situation.
I think these Indian and South Asian men who abuse should immediately be punished similar to anyone else in this country. The issue, however, is that even american men are not fully punished for domestic violence because of their wive’s protection. If you are abusive (violently) you must be put in jail. Period. If the wife must ask for help in any way, then the law enforcement should support them regardless of whether or not they want it or not. Once somebody is beaten and has become a victim, it shouldn’t be their choice to punish or not, as it affects the entire society as a whole.
Abusive behavior is totally unacceptable. When a person immigrates to this country, they must abide by all the laws of this country and not the customs and traditions of the country they are from. Just like it is not legal to bribe cops in the US (as it is widely done in India and many other places), it is not legal to beat your spouse.
Being ’soft’ on these abusive husbands will not solve the problem. If the problem is bad enough to where the spouse has to call the police, then it is a serious issue. And the idea that the spouse does not want a divorce is probably due to the fact that the family will ‘look bad’ in public. People of our community need to stop focusing on pleasing the public and start focusing on how to better their personal lives, regardless of ‘what people would say’.
I applaud the Saheli group for their efforts and initiatives but their approach to solving this problem seems a little strange. I wish all the families involved in this situation the best of luck.
There’s a group in our very own Houston called Daya that helps South Asian families deal with domestic abuse. They offer crisis counseling and have outreach events going on all year.
http://www.dayahouston.org/