Kerala Dowry Death: Magazine Cover Featuring Vismaya Nair Slammed Online

Vismaya Nair magazine cover: 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 front cover of an issue earlier this week, which features Nair from her wedding day, decked in jewellery and a bright orange saree.

As of July 1, copies of the cover are available on the e-magazine's website and their Facebook page.

It has amassed a range of reactions, with many netizens alleging it is insensitive of the publication to display Nair's dowry death tragedy in such a manner. See reactions below:

Have some shame you filthy animals at Manorama! Do not milk a tragedy in this despicable manner! How do you come up with such sadistic ideas just for the sake of business?!?! pic.twitter.com/KqhqT1zJZI

— Arya (@RantingDosa) June 29, 2021

I believe already there is a werther effect following the incident , which is purely by media influence, and now this!!! No malayalam media other than manorama can stoop this low!!
This is horrible, shame on you Manorama
നി൪ത്തിപ്പോടേയ്!! pic.twitter.com/St7qyzP4D3

— Anagha (@SassyDopamine) June 29, 2021

Similar comments flooded the publication's cover on Facebook. "How low can you stoop??!!" one user commented on a post from June 26. "Don't try to sell death and make money. Don't you hv any media ethics, at least humanitarian consideration," another user said.

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 suggested the 24-year-old was facing dowry harassment and marital abuse, including domestic violence, from her husband Kirankumar. He was reportedly unhappy with the car he had received a year prior when the two tied the knot. More here. He was arrested a day after she died and has reportedly admitted to police authorities he used to assault her.

After her death, Nair's father and brother claimed they were not aware of the domestic violence she was subjected to through the one year of marriage. Her mother Sajitha who said she knew the assault Nair faced told media, "I told her to come back, but she said what people say, she will somehow endure it."

The week of Nair's death, three other alleged dowry deaths were reported from Kerala. The cases have prompted nationwide attention towards the issue of gender violence in marriages, leading Pinarayi Vijayan's government in Kerala to announce reformed measures to support violence survivors.

"Men must accept the truth that women are not inferior and that they have equal rights," the Chief Minister has said. Read more here.

Image: Indian Express