Another day, another incident of a man resorting to violence over a petty issue. In a horrifying incident in India’s Maharashtra, a man killed his wife for adding too much salt to food.
According to reports by India.com, the accused, identified as 60-year-old Nilesh Ghagh, allegedly strangled his 40-year-old wife after she added excessive salt to the ‘khichrri‘.
He apparently killed her in ‘a fit of rage’ after she served him the over-salted food for breakfast. According to the police, the accused strangulated his wife using a long piece of cloth.
After being alerted of the crime, police arrived at the crime scene and sent the woman’s body for post-mortem to a local government hospital. Law enforcement agencies registered a case against the accused under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to India.com, this is the second such instance over the course of two weeks. In a similar crime last week, a man shot his daughter-in-law dead after she failed to serve him breakfast along with tea.
Back in 2019, a man cut off his wife’s nose for not making him tea in Mian Chunnu village. The man, along with his brother and cousin, cut off his wife Parveen’s nose after she refused to make them tea.
Women are domestic workers and many cases, often the breadwinner of the family. The underlying social issue in such crimes is male privilege and entitlement that fuels crimes against women.
A recent study by the journal of the Pakistan Medical Association found that 70% to 90% of women in Pakistan are facing domestic violence issues. They are tortured mentally, physically and even killed.
Although there are laws for the protection and provision of women the rights in Pakistan, cultural mores prevent their implementation. Therefore, a majority of incidents go unreported.
