ABSTRACT
For many women, getting married is something that they dream about starting from when they were young girls. In our patriarchal society it is also considered to be one of, if not the most important milestone a woman can aspire and the importance of that is impressed upon them from a young age. For many women especially those belonging to the rural and middle class, getting married to a NRI husband is a dream come true which guarantees them security and an increased social standing. So what happens when that dream turns into a nightmare? Between 2015 and 2019, the Indian government received 6,094 complaints from women who were tricked into marrying NRI spouses.[1] Eight NRI brides petitioned the Supreme Court in 2018 to strengthen India’s anti-dowry legislation.
They estimate in their petition that there are at least “40,000 abandoned brides” just like them, based on the combined figures of many rights organisations and activists helping these women.[2]Their plight is often ignored or deemed unimportant in favour of those women who are going through more “pressing” issues such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, the evils of the dowry system, and more. However it must be noted that these issues overlap quite frequently and often in cases of abandoned brides, there is domestic violence and unabashed abuse of the dowry system. The case of abandoned brides is not an isolated issue but one that connects to larger societal problems. This paper examines the blind spots in our legislation, society and culture that allowed NRI husbands to abandon their wives with impunity as well as traces the changes and strides made in law to confront this issue. This paper analyses the abuse that abandonment brings about in such marriages as well as examines The Hague Conventions and its role in public international law that inevitably affects such cases. Finally this paper also discusses governmental interventions to combat the issue.
KEYWORDS
Abandonment, patriarchy, NRI, marriages, abuse, domestic violence, desertion
INTRODUCTION
Over the years, the problem of Indian women being forced into marriages with NRIs has taken on an alarming dimension, making the subject of “NRI marriages” of utmost concern. Increasing dowry demand is the new consumerism. A familial desire for their daughters to marry foreign-born spouses and greater international connectivity are all results of contemporary global developments. In this global context, wives are frequently deserted by their husbands across countries. NRI wives are divorced without their knowledge in ex parte proceedings in foreign courts, purposefully excluded from forums where they could get assistance and left without money due to financial abuse. The problem’s scope is astounding.The phenomenon of Indian wives being abandoned by their non-resident Indian (NRI) husbands has become widespread in recent years. For over ten years, the number of wives who have been left behind by their non-resident Indian husbands has been steadily increasing. Women in almost every Indian state have been abandoned by NRI men who now reside in the USA, Canada, the UK, and other European and Middle Eastern nations. The different forms of abandonment in an NRI marriage can be narrowed down to three:
(a) a woman who migrates to her husband’s country of residence with Indian ancestry after marriage may be forced to leave or, less frequently, flee after experiencing domestic violence;
(b) a woman may be unknowingly abandoned in her native country after marriage while her husband returns with promises that he will sponsor her visa, but she is left with her in-laws and eventually evicted from their home or departs due to domestic violence and;
(c) a woman may be unknowingly abandoned in her native country after marriage while her husband returns with promises that he will sponsor her visa, but she is left with her in-laws and eventually evicted from their home or departs due to domestic violence.[3]
[1]“Neither a widow nor a wife”: India’s abandoned brides available at: https://fullerproject.org/story/abandoned-brides-india-nri-dowry-2/ (last visited on January 15, 2025)
[2]Ibid.
[3]Anitha, S., Roy, A. and Yalamarty, H., “Disposable Women: Abuse, Violence and Abandonment in Transnational Marriages”(University of Lincoln, 2016)