JOIN USIn an era of globalisation, movement of people between nations and consequently marriages between people who are domiciled in different countries is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Transnational mobility is seen to bring advantages to both recipient and sending countries and has indeed been celebrated by the subsequent Indian governments through events such as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
However, benefits of globalisation in the form of greater opportunities, flexible forms of citizenship and mobility are being exploited by some. It is within these global spaces that researchers are documenting new forms of violence against women and girls such as trafficking and transnational abandonment of wives.
Left stranded
Transnational abandonment refers to the desertion of a woman by her husband who is a resident in another country. In the Indian context, such abandonment takes three forms: a woman, migrating after marriage to her husband’s country of residence, may be ousted from their home; a woman who has migrated with her husband may be deceived into returning to India for a vacation and abandoned; a woman may be left behind in India
after marriage while her husband goes back with assurances that he will sponsor her visa, but is left with her in-laws.
Recently, I completed a research project which explored this topic in collaboration with a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. We looked at women from Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat, a majority of whom were abandoned by men resident in UK, Italy, Australia and USA.
Abandonment of wives is a form of violence against women that occurs in transnational spaces due to the overlapping processes of migration and marriage. Taking advantage of their mobility and the relative lack of mobility of their wives, who are subject to border control and have Indian passports, Indian origin men are able to exploit and abuse women with impunity. Men and their families derive advantages from these marriages in the form of dowry, or where women are left with the in-laws, their only purpose is to provide care.
Another aspect of this issue is where men have ongoing relationships, which are not considered acceptable by their families, and the purpose of the marriage is to secure the family’s status within their community. In these cases, it is common for the husband and his family to extract domestic labour from the wife, while the husband continues with his earlier relationships.
The women we interviewed came from a range of socio-economic backgrounds — while a few women were from poorer families, there were also two medical doctors and a few postgraduates. In contexts where marriage remains the primary marker of social status and identity for women, abandoned women have limited means of living independently or undertaking paid work. Abandoned women face financial insecurity, and are often left at risk of poverty and destitution, social stigma, and abuse from their family for ‘not making their marriage work’.
Justice denied
Due to state apathy and inadequate transnational legal mechanisms, abandoned women are unable to access their legal rights in relation to divorce and financial settlements. Following abandonment, ex-parte divorce proceedings are initiated by the husband. These are proceedings where both parties do not have to be present, and the notice is posted to the wife, who has six weeks to respond. Women may be ignorant of the proceedings or not understand the letter that was sent. By the time they manage to find a lawyer, it is often too late. Additionally, most women are not aware that divorce could take place in this manner, while the few who do understand the implications, may find it hard to represent themselves in legal proceedings in another country.
The role of the Indian state and its criminal justice mechanisms also need to be scrutinised. Some of the abandoned women eventually did initiate legal action in India against their husband and in-laws, however many reported that their complaints were not adequately pursued. In some cases where men came to India, the police did not arrest them. In cases where they were arrested, the police were allegedly bribed to let the culprits go. Some of the police officers interviewed expressed their frustration that they could do little if the men were nationals of another country, or never returned to India. Very few of the women received financial settlement of any kind upon divorce. Neither did they receive any maintenance for children, nor was their dowry returned.
While it is individual men who commit these acts of violence, we also need to scrutinise the role of the state in enabling this abuse to continue on account of inadequate legal mechanisms. State authorities need to work together to respond to specific challenges for women in seeking justice. Joint action by states in the form of bilateral agreements will enable better protection of women’s rights and spaces. The only form of effective deterrence is to make them pay financial compensation, return the dowry and support their children financially.
(The author is senior lecturer, School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK)