There are many reasons for women admitedly, but this one clinches the issue for men. It was bad earlier due to many legal issues but this is the final nail on the coffin. People like me who were on the fence have now [sadly?] come to a decision.

What I would like to know is if this is applicable for those who got married before this law was enacted?

Does my life not belong to me anymore? Am I to be a zombie of the state? As I always said "Democrazy is the dictatorship of the majority".

My freedom of speech has already been legally violated as I cannot insult anybody based on my prejudices about their religion, caste or other considerations.

This article below is the reason. I have cut and pasted it just in case this link expires at some future date.

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Domestic Violence Act comes into effect

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Source: NDTV

New Delhi: The Domestic Violence Act comes into effect from today.

If a man commits any kind of violence or even insults his wife, he can land in jail and have to pay a fine of up to Rs 20,000.

The Act covers women, be they wives, live-in partners, sisters, mothers, mothers-in-law or any other woman relatives.

The new law protects them against

-- Physical violence like beating, slapping, hitting, biting, kicking, punching, pushing, shoving or causing bodily pain or injury in any other manner.

--Sexual violence like forced sexual intercourse, forcing a woman to look at pornography or any other obscene pictures or material, any act of sexual nature to abuse, humiliate or degrade a woman or which is otherwise violative of a woman's dignity or any other unwelcome conduct of sexual nature, child sexual abuse.

--Verbal and Emotional violence like insults, name calling, accusations on a woman's character and conduct, insults for not having a male child, insults for not bringing dowry, preventing a woman or a child in a woman's custody from attending school, college or any other educational institution, preventing a woman from taking up a job, forcing a woman to leave her job, preventing a woman or a child in a woman's custody from leaving the house,preventing a woman from meeting any person in the normal course of events, forcing a woman to get married when she doesn't want to marry, preventing a woman from marrying a person of her own choice, forcing a woman to marry a particular person of his/their own choice, threat to commit suicide and any other verbal or emotional abuse

Economic violence like not providing a woman money for maintaining herself or her children, not providing food, clothes, medicines etc for a woman or her children, Stopping a woman from carrying on her employment or disturbing a woman in carrying on her employment, not allowing a woman to take up employment or taking away her income from her salary, wages etc, forcing a woman out of the house she lives in, stopping a woman from accessing or using any part of the house, not allowing use of clothes, articles or things of general household use, not paying rent if staying in a rented accommodation.

'Diwali gift':

"It's my Diwali gift to all you women out there" - this is how Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary described the Domestic Violence Act.

The minister is also in touch with the Home Ministry to sensitise the police force to such complaints being made in the future.