A minister in the central state of Madhya Pradesh in India is telling wives to man-handle their drunk and abusive husbands.
Minister of Co-operative, Social Justice, Panchayat and Rural Development in the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Mr Gopal Bhargava believes that women have to stand up to domestic violence, and the way to do this is to beat their abusive husbands instead of get beaten.
"Awareness is vital. And the alcoholics would hesitate if they have a fear of retaliation," the minister told SBS in an exclusive interview.
Mr Bhargava has distributed ten thousand bats among rural woman.
He wants these bats to be used as a weapon in case of abuse.
In a mass wedding on Saturday, he gifted bats to the new brides.
When asked, where this idea came from, Mr Bhargava told SBS: "We are a cultured and traditional country but for some time the alcoholism is on the rise. Sale of unauthorised liquor is rampant in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Women are upset because of this. Per capita, income is low and alcoholic husbands spend half of [women's] income on liquor.
"Women get beaten up and their money is snatched. This has led them to commit suicide too. And police has not been effective in these matters for the size of the population is too large. This gave me the idea that women should be armed so they can defend themselves."
The bats have encryption in Hindi which can be loosely translated into: 'To Reform Alcoholics' on one side, and 'Police would not intervene' on other.
When asked if his solution to domestic violence may in fact be instigating violence, he responds with a "No."
He says: "It is not instigating violence. It is a way of reform. We are not giving them a knife or revolver or a pistol. What we are giving them is a simple wooden bat which is normally used to beat clothes during washing. It is better that a woman defends herself than committing suicide."
According to National Crime Record Bureau, Madhya Pradesh is amongst the states that has the highest number of crimes against women.
There were 24,135 crimes reported against women in 2015, and Madhya Pradesh was amongst the top five states with 4391 reported rape cases.
SBS asked the minister if the government should be the ones trying to curb the crime or should the women handle the situation themselves?
Mr Bhargava claims that the government is doing its best but that it's not enough.
He told SBS: "The chief minister has directed the police to stop it, but the rackets are too big and very influential. So it is an experiment that if succeeds can bring a revolution."
Mr Bhargava claims that women received the bats happily.
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