Hyderabad: Nearly 190 complaints of domestic violence were received by the State Women’s Commission in 2014. Of these, a majority concern extra-marital affairs or second marriage. Over 60 complaints received were from Hyderabad.

“Around 70 per cent of domestic violence cases have a history of second marriage or extra- marital affairs,” said women’s commission chairperson, Tripurana Venkataratnam.

“Abuse had become a part of my marriage for over a year. One day, I was beaten up so badly that I had to be taken to hospital for treatment. A few days later, my parents approached a lawyer to make a settlement,” said 29-year-old Swati (name changed).

“It was only after signing the separation agreement that I came to know that he had remarried secretly around six months earlier. All I can do is ask him to sign the divorce papers,” she added.

“In cases which are related to Muslim women, the Muslim Personal Law allows a man to have four wives at any point of time. So, if a woman musters up the courage to file a complaint of harassment, it becomes futile,” said an activist.

“We cannot compare one case with another, but in a majority of the cases a man uses violence to browbeat a woman. The commission cannot take action on petitions due to lack of legal provisions. The government has to formulate new provisions,” said Ms Venkataratnam