Thiruvananthapuram, 24 June 2021: The Kerala state women’s commission has registered a total of 1096 dowry-related harassment cases since 2010. A large number of these cases have been registered in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam district.

Thiruvananthapuram registered 447 (40.78%) from the total dowry-related cases while Kollam registered 126 (11.5%) cases. The women’s commission disposed of 874 (79.74) cases.

80% of the registered cases are from seven southern distracts, namely – Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam. According to the commission’s statistics, Thiruvananthapuram also recorded 3,476 cases of domestic violence cases since 2010, the highest in the state. Kottayam (692) followed the capital city and Kollam (656) was third on the list. The capital district again topped the list of complaints against husbands for harassment of women with a total of 176 cases and was followed by Ernakulam (45) and Kollam (39).

Corresponding to the National Women’s Act, Kerala’s Women’s Commission Act was passed in 1995. The commission was set up with the aim to improve the status of women in the state as well as tracking the unfair practices which affected the women.

The commissions inspect written as well as verbal complaints, complaints received through postal mail or an online portal. Additionally, it also takes into account any suo moto complaints relating to the women of the state. The commission works with complaints concerned with domestic violence, harassment, dowry-related issues, torture, murder, kidnapping, abduction, complaints against NRI marriages, desertion, bigamy, rape, police harassment, brutality, cruelty by husband, deprivation of rights, gender discrimination, sexual harassment at workplace, etc.