Srinagar: A survey has found that most women in Jammu and Kashmir justify wife-beating. “Sixty-four per cent of women in Jammu and Kashmir believe it is justifiable, 51% women say wife-beating is justified if a woman shows disrespect to her in-laws, 50% approve it if she neglects the house or children, 48% approve wife-beating if the husband suspects she is unfaithful,” says the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted under the aegis of Union ministry of health and family welfare.
Also, over 54% of women and almost 71% of men in J&K believe a woman is justified in refusing sex with her husband if she knows that he has sexually transmitted diseases, if he has intercourse with other women of if she is tired or not in the mood. Around 13% of the state’s women, 15% of them married, have experienced physical or sexual violence. The prevalence of spousal violence however, is lower in J&K when compared to other states, except Himachal Pradesh.
