Amid country-wide lockdown, when the government announced opening the liquor shops, many men were seen rejoicing on streets after buying alcohol for the first time in 40 days.
At many places, police had to restore to baton, as people gathering in front of the liquor shops refused to follow the social-distancing norms.
While opening the liquor shops, what many forget to ask is how this is going to affect domestic violence victims amid lockdown.
The cases of domestic violence cases have been growing tremendously for the past weeks during the lockdown. Given this fact, wouldn’t the opening of liquor stores lead to further aggression and violence against women at home?
India is not new to the women’s agitation against the problem of alcoholism in their husbands. And, when a woman recently committed suicide along with her daughter, the fear of many victims came alive.
What Happened?
On the first day of liquor sale in Andhra Pradesh witnessed two suicides in a single-family. As per the police, the wife and her daughter committed suicide allegedly after being beaten by the husband in Chittoor district’s Palamaneru.
Chokka Lingam, 55, an alcoholic used to live with his wife Jagada, 50, and daughter Nandhini, 22. He would often fight with them for money to buy liquor, according to a police official.
On Monday after Lingam bought and consumed liquor, he reached home and started assaulting his wife and daughter after they questioned his drinking. Later, in the state of depression, both women allegedly killed themselves.
As the case is still under investigation, it leaves us heartbroken. With increasing domestic violence and deteriorating mental health, easy access to alcohol is harmful in multiple ways.
It is not only detrimental for domestic abuse victims but also puts many on the risk of alcohol addiction as well.
We hope the authorities would soon take cognizance of the ugly reality of putting many victims at risk and take strict actions to save lives.
