Masculinity

“Broken Vows: The Tragic Consequences of Section 498A Misuse on Indian Men”

Marriage is supposed to be a union of two individuals who love and support each other through thick and thin. However, for some, marriage can become a living nightmare due to the misuse of laws meant to protect either of the partner in the marriage. The documentary “Martyrs of Marriage” shines a light on the injustices perpetrated by the misuse of Section 498A, a law meant to protect married women from cruelty and harassment by their husbands and in-laws.

Heart of the ‘Matrimonial’ Matter

The film, directed by Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, delves into the problem using first-person accounts of those who have suffered. It highlights how men can also be victims in a marriage and how the misuse of Section 498A can ruin their lives. The film was born out of the director’s personal experience with the misuse of the law and the aim of spreading awareness about the issue.

Struggles Behind-The-Scenes

Making the film was not easy. Many feared frivolous litigation and there was a trust gap that took time to bridge. From a storytelling point of view, the director faced the challenge of selecting case studies, as people whose cases resulted in acquittals had adjusted to the pain and those still going through harassment couldn’t speak due to legal complications.

Human Rights or ‘Woman’s Right’?

Women’s rights activists argue that the number of men persecuted by abuse of women-friendly laws is minuscule compared to the large number of women who face violence and attacks by men. Bhardwaj’s take on this is that it doesn’t have to be men vs women war. It’s about justice and equality, irrespective of gender. The irony is that the same women’s rights activists, who call themselves feminists and stand for gender equality, dismiss the conversation about men’s victimization citing numbers.

No Relief for the Real Victims

What is a way to bring about more equality in law without making it unpleasant and frictional for both sides? Bhardwaj suggests that the government should constitute an unbiased authority to look into the efficacy of the laws being used as weapons today and explore if misuse is greater than use. A female family court judge even suggested that Section 498A should be scrapped, but she can’t say it publicly due to the backlash she would face.

When Facts and Figures Failed Us

Lastly, the documentary gives us some pretty grave figures of 2,25,648 arrests under 498A in 2014, before releasing in 2016. Seeing the statistics from the past two decades might make us wonder that there ought to be some progress about this issue. Fast forward almost a decade later, here is the data reflecting some recent ‘developments’ since then:

  • As of now, 498A is still a cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence.

1,36,234 Accused vs 838 Convicts – What about the other 1,35,396 people – only in 2021?

Minting the ‘Dowry’ Money

Also, what does all this mean for the country’s public and the Judicial system on a larger basis? Simple mathematics reveals that in 2021, the number of cases registered under 498A were 162 times the number of convicts, grossly hindering the efficacy of the Indian Legal System and actively harming itself, in terms of unjust capitalization of the law by the fake victims and their lawyers, along with other corrupt public officials.

Wouldn’t proactiveness be the best remedy for the Judicial System itself, let alone the public?

Accounting for the Actual ‘Abuse’

The scope of this issue increases exponentially when we consider the physical, verbal, economical, sexual, mental, emotional, and financial abuse that men face due to the scrutiny of alleged harassment. The horror the falsely accused face then becomes unimaginable when we consider a host of laws with similar discrepancies, which have little to no provision against fake accusations or for abuse of other genders, like:

That is more than 30 laws in the Indian Constitution.

Should we arrive at a ‘Quick Conclusion’?

The misuse of Section 498A, is a severe issue that needs to be addressed. The film “Martyrs of Marriage” brings to light the injustices faced by men and women due to the abuse of the law. It’s time for the government to take action and ensure that laws meant to protect individuals are not used as weapons for extortion and revenge. Misuse of Section 498A should be punished stringently, and victims of domestic violence, irrespective of gender, should have recourse for protection under the law.

Go watch the documentary “Martyrs of Marriage” by Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj at: https://youtu.be/vKRAkw5RUdw

Explore her latest “India’s Sons – Tales of False Rape Case Survivors” at: https://www.indiassons.com/

Get involved with her noble pursuit at: https://www.instagram.com/deepikanarayanbhardwaj/

Written by: Hemant Sharma (BJMC-1, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda)

Fight Club: The Ultimate Guide to Masculinity.

By Manav Chauhan

*WARNING*

“Fight Club” being the most controversial movie on men’s rights due to it’s excessive violence and wild twisted ending, became a hot topic in the manosphere since it’s release in 1999. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me tell you more about it. But first buckle up your seat belts, it’s hell of a ride ahead…

Let’s Fight!!!

Introduction

Fight Club was a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It was based on the 1996 novel ‘Fight Club’ by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton played the role of the narrator, who is not satisfied with his job. So he forms a group named “fight club” with a soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and becomes engaged in a relationship with a destitute woman, Marla Singer (Bonham Carter).

Above lines are the simplest explanation I can give you on the film. But as you see, things don’t go as monochromatic as described above (in the movie).

Box Office

Fight Club failed to meet the studio’s expectations at the box office, and received polarized reviews from the critics. It was quoted as one of the most controversial and talked about films of the year. The film later found commercial success with its DVD release, establishing Fight Club as a cult classic causing media to revisit the film once again. In 2009, on the tenth anniversary of the film’s release, The New York Times dubbed it the “defining cult movie of our time”.

What actually happens ?

Plot: Twisted!

Edward Norton (actor) who’s “The Narrator” of the movie plays the role of an office worker who is discontented with his boring life, suffers with sleep apnea and insomnia. He is sleep walking while working, working while sleeping, and doing whatever we do in our day-to-day lives in a semi-automatic mode controlled by his brain. He is not aware of his surroundings. His brain creates scenes which he confuses them with reality. He questions the very origin of the circumstances happening around him. So in order to cure his sleeping cycle he starts attending support groups which he thinks are helping him from his psychotic disease in the form of a therapy. He starts attending support group meetings for blood parasites, testicular cancer and whatever he finds useful for his insomnia. Although he doesn’t have any problematic disease mentioned above but crying and relieving his office stress (generally happens in such meetings), he finds it easy to sleep at night and gets his full natural sleep without taking pills which he used to take before. 

Helena Carter as Marla

In one such meeting, he meets Marla (Helena Carter) who, like him, is also a fake attendee. She is neither a victim nor a survivor but still attends to get free food. This thing annoys him and he confronts Marla. Both blackmail each other to expose the other person. After a long verbal brawl they come to a conclusion they’ll split the week and the meetings. 

*Note: We are all Jack here. There’s a reason I’m saying this which you’ll only understand after watching the movie.

Now his life actually changes when he meets Tyler Durden on a flight home. 

The interesting part beginnns!!!

Jack (Edward Norton) and Tyler (Brad Pitt)

The Narrator (Jack) is impressed by his charming personality and useful information which they share along the way. Jack asks questions to Tyler and gets to know a lot of things about him. His not giving a f*ck attitude, boldness and usefulness. Tyler is so useful that he can actually make explosives with household items!!! He is bold and ambitious. He takes whatever he wants. Isn’t afraid of the crime, murder or poverty. Such things don’t seem to concern him much. In short Tyler has no rules, no limits, no breaks either. You either follow him or are against him. Just like a jungle, he’s the wolf, he’s the lion. Kill for a kill. He lives in an old house which was ruined almost a century ago. He doesn’t care what he wears either. By the way, he makes and sells soaps for a living. Both get along after a few conversations and decide to start the Fight Club.

Tyler Durden: A Sigma Male

Who you lookin at ?

According to him (to every man reading this), “Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off”.

Meaning: Evolutionarily, men were developed and evolved to hunt, to fight, to kill, to survive only by the force of their own muscles and instinct. They were the providers for their families, tribes, and societies, and thrived in a state of struggle and warfare against each other and nature. Naturally, their bodies and minds developed to reflect this reality, and even down to a neuro-chemical level, they derive value and meaning from such a way of life.

The modern world has completely removed this aspect of life and replaced it with soft, decadent, dissolute, little-hearted, consumer capitalist men. Not only are men not supposed to be violent, aggressive, and driven by their very real biological urges, but they are told that these aspects of themselves are barbaric, evil and worthy of condemnation and punishment. The term misogynist is used frequently for such men to oppose them.

*Note: This is called psychological emasculation of Men.

*Solution: Be Tyler. Period.

But but but, the aim of this philosophy is to take out the best from the men. It means and states no harm to other genders and especially women. Women are an integral part of the ecosystem and Tyler understands this too.

*Attention please: 

I’m limiting this article to only the storyline because the movie “Fight Club” is really very complicated and cannot be articulated into a single article. Plus I don’t want to give spoilers. There are many more philosophical quotes and scenes in the movie but I’m restricted by the word limit or else I would have elaborated more on the movie and the current reality but no worries!! I’ve still got you. Checkout the links below for more information.

General FAQs you might want to clear up after reading this article.

  • Why should I watch Fight Club ? (Well there’s no reason. It’s for your benefit).
  • Who is a Sigma Male ?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/brightside.me/inspiration-psychology/who-sigma-males-are-and-why-theyre-so-popular-800914/amp/

https://www.sigmamaleforum.com/topic/165-famous-sigma-males-in-movies/

  • Tyler Durden’s Complete Character Analysis (why he does what he does).

https://fightclub.fandom.com/wiki/Tyler_Durden

  • Tyler Durden’s Philosophy

(Complete guide to the above mentioned statements)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/dormin.org/2020/01/22/the-philosophy-of-tyler-durden/amp/

https://www.goodwinsmith.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-give-less-of-a-fuck

  • Emasculation of Men: Suggested Books.
  • What is The “Übermensch Concept” by Friedrich Nietzsche ?
  • What is Nihilism ?
Nihilism
  • What is the Manosphere ?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manosphere

Final Verdict

This is not the end. It is the beginning!!!

And don’t thank Me. Now go and watch the movie! I tell you it’s worth it.

Are you ready for the Project Mayhem ?

Image Sources: Google