Newlywed women in one Indian state are being given state-issued wooden bats to ward off drunk or abusive husbands, amid nationwide efforts to crackdown on alcohol-linked violence against women. Agence France-Presse reports that Gopal Bhargava, a minister in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, gave the bats to nearly 700 women who participated in a government-organized mass wedding on Saturday. Bhargava has reportedly ordered about 10,000 more paddles to hand out to future brides.