*11 Nov 2011* *CHENNAI *: Three women, who filed a case against their father seeking maintenance to take care of their mentally-challenged sibling, are still awaiting justice. The case, which was filed in 2007, swung in their favour one year later with the family court ruling that Chinnapandian, should pay his daughter Rekha 3000 every month. But he only paid 1000 a month ever since.
"I end up coming here every month for the case. As I leave for work at six every morning, I take my daughter with me. No one else is there at home to look after her. My employers are sympathetic towards our condition but my husband is not," said Rekha's mother, Y P Penchilamma. After their marriage in 1972 and the birth of their four daughters, Chinnapandian deserted his family, leaving his wife to fend for herself. "I struggled a lot but managed to make ends meet by working as a domestic help. Everyone asked me to put my daughters in a hostel but I could not bring myself to do it. In 1989, I got a job as a sweeper with Indian Bank, which I am continuing today," Penchilamma said. Pointing out that her husband, a sweeper with the Chennai Corporation, had opted for voluntary retirement, she said he was yet to pay her a settlement of 3 lakh, the dues from his service benefits. "In fact, he lives in the same locality as I do but he has not looked back on his family. I have not bothered to take it up with him either. I have worked hard at my job. I am a committee member of the employees' union. I do not know how to write in Tamil because I studied in a Telugu-medium school but I know I have to work against the odds to be treated with respect. And I do, every day," Penchilamma said. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-11/chennai/30386411_1_court-ruling-mentally-ill-rekha -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
