New Zealand’s Member of Parliament Kanwalijit Singh Bakshi, who until recently was the Chairperson of Law and Order Select Committee told SBS Punjabi that although transnational marriages and their link to dowry and violence were often insidious but to say that the practice is as prevalent in New Zealand as it is in other parts of the world, particularly India would be “misleading.”
“It is totally unacceptable and unfortunate for our future generations that in the 21st century we are still living in those dark ages where dowry was a common part of weddings, but I totally disagree when people say it is as prevalent here as it is in other parts of the world.”
Mr Bakshi said that if at all there is evidence to prove that the problem has aggravated in Australia or New Zealand over recent years, it can be more or less attributed to the vulnerability attached to the victim’s visa situation -which he emphasizes can be both women as well as men.
“It’s a normal phenomenon here, if the boy has sponsored the girl who has come from India, then the first thing they do is withdraw the sponsorship and the same happens if the girl has sponsored the boy."
While Mr Bakshi conceded that the practice of dowry persists, leaving many innocent women open to abuse, he insisted that attention must be drawn to the fact that in many cases the anti-dowry laws in India are being “misused to the extreme” ruining lives of men who have now migrated to countries like Australia and New Zealand.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi has been instrumental in setting up Gandhi Nivas, the first shelter for males in Auckland. Source: SBS
“I have seen so many cases where the law has been misused and the cases have been registered without any proper evidence.”
NZ MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (L) with Sir Bill English, Ex Prime Minister of NZ (C) and Ranjna Patel, Chairwoman of Gandhi Nivas (R). Source: Supplied
Private facilities have sprouted in major cities to provide emergency housing and counselling services to men who have been slapped with a Police Safety Order or are otherwise entangled in family violence cases.
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The Price of Marriage and Divorce
Mr Bakshi has been instrumental in setting up Gandhi Nivas, the first shelter for male victims in Auckland, which he said has filled an essential gap in services available.
“As you know that because males don’t talk about it, (they keep) wandering around, sleeping at bus stops, spending nights in the parks and cars. So that was a major issue, so then we started a male shelter.
“Within one year, the majority of people who came to seek shelter were Indians. And the counselling they got, they sat on the table, their issues were easily resolved and they went back to their homes. Now just not Indians but people from other communities also come into the shelter.”
Inspired by the success of this experiment in Auckland, two more shelters for men have been opened in Christchurch and Hamilton.
