When the Victim Becomes the Accused: Are Women in India Repeating History in Reverse?

For centuries, India bore witness to the suffering of women in silence. In the shadowed corners of patriarchy, countless brides were burned for dowry, tortured for birthing daughters, and gaslit into submission. The tales of Satyug to Kaliyug carried whispers of injustice wrapped in the veil of family honor. The battle for women’s rights was not just necessary, it was overdue. Laws were created, society awakened, and empowerment slowly began to take root.

But somewhere in this empowered present, an unsettling pattern is emerging. A shift. A pendulum swinging too far.

In a disturbing twist of fate, stories are now surfacing of women orchestrating brutal murders of their husbands—not in the name of survival, but love, lust, or control. And suddenly, men are living in fear, unsure whether the home is a haven or a trap.

Take the chilling case of Sonam Raghuvanshi from Madhya Pradesh. Sonam and her husband Raja, newly married, went on their honeymoon to Meghalaya in May 2025. Days later, Raja’s decomposed body was discovered at the bottom of a gorge. What began as a search for a missing husband turned into a murder investigation. It was revealed that Sonam, allegedly with the help of her lover and a group of accomplices, had planned the murder of her husband during the honeymoon itself. Her betrayal was not spontaneous. It was scripted, rehearsed, and executed like a macabre theatre of revenge.

Then came the equally horrifying story of Muskan Rastogi in Meerut. Her husband, Saurabh Rajput, a former Merchant Navy officer, disappeared in early March 2025. Suspicion grew. Police raided their home and found his dismembered body sealed inside a blue plastic drum. The method? Muskan had allegedly drugged Saurabh, and with the help of her lover Sahil, stabbed him, cut him into pieces, and sealed the body in cement. The lovers then fled to Himachal Pradesh, posing as husband and wife. A fairytale turned into a horror saga.

These stories are not isolated. Social media is slowly being flooded with similar narratives—men being blackmailed, falsely accused, or physically harmed under the guise of romantic or marital partnerships. And while we must continue to protect and uphold the rights of women, it is time to acknowledge the other side of the story too.

The Indian legal framework, particularly in domestic cases, has long operated with the assumption that men are the perpetrators. Sections like 498A (anti-dowry law) and the Domestic Violence Act were created to protect women from genuine harm—and they have. But when these powerful laws are misused, they become weapons instead of shields.

Historically, Indian society has seen the husband as ‘Pati Parmeshwar’—a divine figure to be served, obeyed, and revered. This image came not just from religion but from societal structures that granted men ultimate authority in households. The woman was expected to adjust, compromise, and endure—no matter how unjust the conditions. Over generations, this narrative created deep wounds in the collective psyche of Indian women.

Today, with access to education, independence, and legal protections, some women are rewriting this narrative. But in doing so, a new stereotype is emerging—the ‘dangerous woman’, the ‘manipulative wife’, the ‘killer lover’. This reversal, though limited in numbers, is sensational enough to dominate headlines and distort public perception. The victimhood of men in these cases now mirrors the suffering of women in past decades.

This raises an important question: Why are women, in these rare but horrifying cases, being seen as villains now?

Because for centuries, they were only seen as victims.

As society adjusts to new power equations, any deviation from the expected nurturing, sacrificial image of a woman draws outrage and fear. When a woman kills her husband, it shatters the myth of the submissive wife and the omnipotent husband. It also reveals a painful truth: power, when abused, knows no gender.

Today, some men whisper their fears into internet forums, into WhatsApp chats, or late-night confessions: “What if my wife turns on me?” “What if she uses the law against me for leaving her?” “Will anyone believe me if I say she hit me first?”

We fought long and hard to believe women. And we should continue to believe victims. But belief cannot be blind.

The Sonam and Muskan cases prove that emotional manipulation, physical violence, and even murder can stem from any gender. When love turns to obsession, and entitlement replaces empathy, the results are catastrophic.

And the danger is not only physical. A false accusation can shatter a man’s career, separate him from his children, or drive him to suicide. This does not make women the enemy—it makes unchecked power, without accountability, the real villain.

What we need today is balance.

We need to:

• Make laws gender-neutral in their interpretation and application.
• Provide mental health support for both men and women in troubled marriages.
• Treat female-perpetrated violence with the same seriousness as male-perpetrated crime.
• Promote relationship literacy from a young age—where mutual respect matters more than control.

This is not about shifting sympathy from women to men. This is about expanding our capacity for justice.

Just as a girl should never fear being punished for birthing a daughter, a man should never fear being killed for falling out of love.

We dreamed of a future where women could walk fearlessly into relationships. Let us now dream of one where men can live fearlessly within them.

Because true equality is not when women rise to take revenge. It is when no one has to fear the person they love.

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