80% Women In Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka Back Men Beating Wives: National Family Health Survey

New Delhi: The recent National Family Health Survey (NHFS) has some startling revelations.

According to the survey, around 80 per cent of women justified men beating their wives in three states  Telangana (84 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (84 per cent) and Karnataka (77 per cent).

Manipur with 66 per cent, Kerala 52 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 49 per cent, Maharashtra 44 per cent and West Bengal 42 per cent were the other states and Union Territory where a large number of women justified men beating their wives.

To a question by the NFHS, “In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife…?”, over 30 per cent of women from as many as 14 states and Union Territories said, “yes”.

The survey put forward the probable circumstances under which a husband beats his wife: if he suspects her of being unfaithful; if she disrespects in-laws; if she argues with him; if she refuses to have sex with him; if she goes out without informing him; if she neglects the house or the children; if she doesn’t cook good food.

The most common reasons given by the respondents to justify beating were neglecting the house or children and showing disrespect to in-laws, PTI reported.

Of the 18 states, women respondents in 13 — Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Gujarat, Nagaland, Goa, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Telangana, Nagaland and West Bengal cited “disrespect to in-laws” as the main reason to justify beating.

The lowest population of women that justified beating by husbands was in Himachal Pradesh (14.8 per cent).

Among men, 81.9 per cent of respondents from Karnataka said such behaviour is justified as against 14.2 per cent in Himachal Pradesh.