Exactly a month ago, when the All India Mother-in-law Protection Forum (AIMPF) started work, it had been greeted with expressions
ranging from disbelief to a matter-of-fact nod of the head. However, here is some news for those who felt this was just a gimmick: since its inception on September 6, 30 mothers-in-law from the city have joined the forum!
The AIMPF, which is an initiative of the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), operates across the country and inaugurated its Nagpur unit recently. Interestingly, SIFF has often been described as an organisation of ‘women-haters’. That myth goes pop with the success of AIMPF.
Rajesh Vakharia, one of the most active members of SIFF in Nagpur, explains, “The laws used against the woman’s in-laws are lopsided, and as a result their mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law end up suffering. That was why SIFF has always talked of betterment of the family, and not just the men folk whose wives have filed false cases of domestic violence and dowry demand against them.”
As for AIMPF, it seems to be proving quite a rallying ground for mothers-in-law in the city, most of whose sons are embroiled in false cases involving dowry. Take for example the complaint filed by Asha Masram, who lives with her four sons in the city. After her husband passed away in 1992, she raised the boys single-handedly and got them married off.
One of the daughters-in-law began asking her husband to move out and live separately, around four years after their marriage. However, the boy declined, since he was not earning enough to support both of them.