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84% of women in Telugu States okay with husbands beating them up: NFHS

In an age where women are succeeding in all spheres and influencing policymaking around the world, an extremely disturbing trend has emerged from India, especially the Telugu States. According to the National Family Health Survey, a large number of women in the country have started accepting domestic violence or the atrocities of their husbands as their destiny. 

The shocking data shows how 30 to 80 per cent of women across different states do not consider the atrocities and harassment by husbands or in-laws as wrong. In fact, they justify being beaten up by their husband.

According to a recent NFHS survey, 84 per cent of women in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and 77 per cent of women in Karnataka were okay with their husbands beating them up. Another 66 per cent of women in Manipur, 52 per cent in Kerala, 49 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir, 44 per cent in Maharashtra and 42 per cent in West Bengal considered beating by their husbands as justified. 

According to the survey report, more than 30 per cent of women in 14 out of 18 states and union territories surveyed do not consider beating of women by men to be wrong under certain circumstances. The survey discovered possible reasons why a husband beats his wife. 

These include: 

1) If he suspects her to be unfaithful

2) If she disrespects the in-laws

3) If she argues with the husband

4) If she refuses to have sex

5) If she steps out of the house without telling him

6) If she neglects the home or the children

7) If she does not cook well. 

The most common reason for assault by husbands, according to women from 13 out of 18 states surveyed, was suspected “disrespect for in-laws.” The lowest percentage of women justifying domestic abuse was in Himachal Pradesh where 14.8 per cent of the women found the behaviour normal.

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Tejaswini Pagadala

Communications Consultant: TEJASWINI PAGADALA is an independent communications consultant. She has previously worked with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office as the Communications Officer where she has written English speeches for the CM, managed English media communication from the CMO and handled social media accounts of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and the Government.
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