Rohini Mohan, New Delhi: Manju's mother, Phulpatti Devi is in jail for a violent crime that her family is not ashamed of.

Every bit of remorse has been washed away, and replaced with pride. Because after all, it was self-defense.

"He behaved so badly with my mother. Whatever she did, she did right," says Manju. Two years ago, Phulpatti Devi defended herself against her loan agent Devendra Singh when tried to rape her.

She fished out a vegetable knife, cut off his penis, and walked to the police station with the proof in her hands.

But Devendra Singh, humiliated, still claims it was four men who attacked him. "I didn't even see the woman. How can a woman do this to a man? Think about it, will a woman be able to do such violence?" says Singh.

In a society where women have faced oppression for generations, the rising number of women committing violence against men comes as a shock to many. But the question is, is violence by women any different from violence by men?

That’s one question Abhimanyu does not ask anymore. He spends every day in court, fighting a dowry harassment case. He says his wife was aggressive, abusive, and physically violent. And all along, she knew she would get away with it, Abhimanyu adds.

"The most distressing part is that it comes from a completely unexpected source. You don't associate violence with women. So when she says that 'I could break this TV set right now, what will you do?' it comes as a disillusionment. My wife once said, "What will you do, tell your mom? She'll think kya hijra paida kiya hai," recalls Abhimanyu.

The latest crime records from 2004, say that out about 58,000 dowry cases, the majority were genuine. But about 11,000 were false cases. However, not all punches thrown by women make it to court.

Neha, a consultant from Delhi, twice hit out at men who groped her in broad daylight. "Violence is absolutely justified.

I'm protecting myself. He was looking at me like, I'll do what I want, what can you do? He was belittling me; he was saying I was weak.

I wanted to tell him I'm as strong as you are," says Neha. Mahatma Gandhi might have said that the woman was the incarnation of Ahimsa because she embodied the infinite capacity for suffering.

But many women think it's a belief that needs a reality check. "No way that I'm going to turn my other cheek. Instead I would give him one tight shot on his one cheek and then one on the other," says Neha.

(With inputs from Utpal Pathak in Badalpur)