Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Besides attempting to prevent breakups between married couples, the counselling centre at the Bhopal District Family Court has also been trying to reduce the suffering of the children of couples whose marriages are under strain. Both in cases where the divorce has been granted and where the case is pending, the counsellors at the centre try to ensure that the children do not develop any animosity towards one of their parents or get traumatised.
“For us, the wellbeing of the children is of utmost importance. After all, why should they suffer if their parents can’t or won’t live together,” says Sindhu Dholpure, one of the counsellors.
Around 15-20 cases related to custody of children and visitation rights are filed in the district family court every month. In cases where couples seeking divorce have children, the family courts give the custody of the children to one of the parents and visitation rights to the other. In cases where the children are minor (less than 18 years of age) and especially if they happen to be girls, the custody is given to the mothers and the fathers are allowed to meet them for a fixed duration of time at periodic intervals. Earlier, the visiting parents had to meet their children in the court.
The meeting venue, however, has been shifted to the counselling centre for the past three years to provide a more good and healthy atmosphere to the children and the parents both. “In most of the cases, mothers use their children as pawns in their battle against their husbands. They poison the minds of the children against their fathers,” says another counsellor, Shail Awasthi. A majority of the children want both their parents to live together. And that is what we also want, counsellor Ritu Patwa adds.
Kid helps parents reunite
A man, who was a distributor of medicines and his wife, had been fighting a divorce case for more than six years. The man had filed a case seeking restitution of conjugal rights whereas the woman had filed for maintenance. The father and grandparents used to come here to meet the child. He became a bridge between his parents and ultimately they decided to live together.
Harbouring grudge against father
A seven-year-old boy declared that after he grows up, he would stab his father. In such cases, counsellors tell the children that the expenses on their upbringing and education are being borne by their father through maintenance paid to their mothers. In another case where the child would not accept toffees or toys from his father and refused to talk with him. There was a father who would come to the counselling centre and play video games with his daughter for hours.
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