Vismaya Nair magazine cover sparks outrage online: Kerala dowry deaths

Cover of Vismaya Nair magazine: Social media users are outraged by a Malayalam magazine for using the photo of Vismaya Nair, the 24-year-old Kerala woman who died in an alleged dowry case in June, on their cover.

Manorama E-weekly, a local interest magazine, digitally published the cover of an issue earlier this week, which features Nair on her wedding day, decked out in jewelry and a bright orange sari.

As of July 1, copies of the cover have been available on the e-magazine’s website and on its Facebook page.

It has amassed a slew of reactions, with many netizens saying it is oblivious to the post displaying the tragedy of Nair’s dowry death in this manner. See reactions below:

Be a little ashamed, you filthy beasts of Manorama! Do not treat a tragedy in this despicable way! How do you find such sadistic ideas just for the sake of business?!?! pic.twitter.com/KqhqT1zJZI

– Arya (@RantingDosa) June 29, 2021

I already believe that there is a werther effect following the incident, which is purely by media influence, and now this !!! No Malayalam media other than manorama can lower itself so low !!
It’s horrible, shame on you Manorama
!! pic.twitter.com/St7qyzP4D3

– Anagha (@SassyDopamine) June 29, 2021

Similar comments flooded the Facebook post’s coverage. “How far can you go? !! A user commented on a June 26 post. “Don’t try to sell death and make money. You have no media ethics, at least a humanitarian consideration, ”said another user.

Vismaya Nair magazine cover sparks outrage: look back at the case

Nair was found dead in Sooranad, Kollam in Kerala on June 22, in a case of suspected suicide. Details revealed suggest the 24-year-old was the victim of dowry harassment and domestic violence, including domestic violence, by her husband Kirankumar. He was reportedly unhappy with the car he received a year before when the two tied the knot. More here. He was arrested a day after her death and reportedly confessed to police authorities that he had assaulted her.

After her death, Nair’s father and brother claimed they were unaware of the domestic violence she was subjected to during the year of her marriage. Her mother Sajitha, who said she knew about the assault on Nair, told the media: “I told her to come back, but she said what people are saying, she will put up with it somehow. ‘another one.”

In the week of Nair’s death, three more suspected dowry-related deaths were reported in Kerala. The cases have attracted nationwide attention to the issue of gender-based violence in marriages, leading the government of Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala to announce reformed measures to support victims of violence.

“Men must accept the truth that women are not inferior and have equal rights,” the chief minister said. Read more here.

Image: Indian Express

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