More than 700 women were given wooden bats by the state to use against their drunk, abusive husbands at a mass wedding in India.
Each bride received a foot-long wooden paddle from the minister of social justice and rural development, Gopal Bhargava, which were engraved with slogans such as “police won’t intervene” and “for beating drunkards”.
According to The Telegraph, 10,000 more bats have been ordered to distribute to rural women, in an attempt to give them a way to defend themselves against domestic violence.
Speaking to the AFP news agency, Bhargava said of the gifts, “Women say whenever their husbands get drunk they become violent.”
“Their savings are taken away and splurged on liquor. There is no intent to provoke women or instigate them to violence, but the bat is to prevent violence.”
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