Indian origin MP takes credit for anti-dowry law in UK

LONDON: Britain is considering an anti-dowry law to curb spousal violence among expatriate Indians. British MP Virendra Sharma has said he had raised the demand for a law to protect women’s rights, in the House of Commons. Sharma, currently on a visit to India, reviewed facilities for applicants at the UK VFS centre in Jalandhar. He said spousal violence is an issue among the Indians living in the UK. Indian brides, bound by culture, do not approach law-enforcing agencies against their husbands. "An anti-dowry law will check their physical and mental harassment even as a consensus among the stakeholders is being worked out on the issue,” he added. Sharma exhorted parents to run background checks on foreign-based grooms before marrying off their daughters. The girls should be made aware of the UK legal support system so that they can effectively counter any such harassment in that country, he said. “We have approached the Indian High Commission in Britain to extend the maximum support to such victims and the response has been encouraging,” said the MP . Jalandhar-born Sharma regretted that the process to open a UK visa centre in Punjab had runs into delays. He said along with 16 other MPs, he had demanded that the visa centre be based in Jalandhar for Doaba’s contribution to promoting British culture and economy . The proposed centre would later be converted into a full-fledged consulate, he said. Sharma, who is MP for Ealing, Southall, said they were persuading Immigration Minister Phil Woolas to personally visit Jalandhar in this regard. Chandigarh is another option, he said. Asked about the delay in clearing the Bill of Rights, Sharma said that stakeholders nationwide were being consulted. “How much time it will take to pass the Bill is not clear,” he said.

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