What is it like to empower marginalised women to access justice in rural India? We speak to Anshumala of Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives Trust (AALI), an organisation working on protection and advancement of women’s rights since 1998.
Anshumala: AALI is a feminist organisation working since 1998. AALI envisions an egalitarian social system that recognizes women as complete individuals and equal human beings through advocacy for women’s human rights. Our organization undertakes research, activism, and direct response with a strong focus on violence against women and the right to choice and decision-making in relationship.
Besides this, there is advocacy work – with the government so that the gap between the law’s promise and its execution can be minimised, and law is implemented better.
Because of our extensive practice we can bring attention to certain loopholes that exist in law and practice. AALI works with all women on the margins – be it the LGBGTQ, dalit or religious minority community.
AALI provides technical assistance to individual women’s rights activists and groups across the country, with a grassroots presence in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Bihar. Based on a rights-based perspective and a feminist approach, AALI’s believes that the law is an important tool for ensuring social justice.
Its ideology stems from the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Anshumala: To begin with, in most cases, survivors of sexual violence are not able to register their First Information Report (FIR). The long duration of the court’s proceedings and delayed hearings also impact survivors. In India, the number of courts is inadequate and therefore cases don’t move at a desired pace. This causes a lot of women to turn hostile, especially in sexual violence cases.
When domestic violence law (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act) was introduced in India in 2005, it set a time limit of 60 days for disposal of a case. But in practice domestic violence cases take a lot more time.
Take for example another provision in the law about protection officers (PO), who is the person responsible for assisting women survivors under the Domestic Violence Act. Several places still do not have a PO despite the law being in operation since 2005.
Government officers certainly have challenges too. They are overburdened and suffer from manpower and budget shortage. A lot of times they are not sufficiently trained either. AALI engages with the various government stakeholders and lawyers to train them on various legal provisions and feminist perspectives. Feminist sensitisation is needed for everyone in society.
To navigate criminal laws and courts becomes slightly easy if there is an activist or an organisation like AALI supporting the victims. But for others, navigating the criminal justice system can be even more challenging.
Anshumala: AALI stays in touch with the survivors at every stage of the process. We have also created a coalition of survivors which enables women to be part of a bigger support system. We build their perspective and empower them to fight their battles. We tell them about the laws that they can use and provide counselling for their mental wellbeing. Each of these interventions is aimed at making the women more confident.
We support them from the police station till the time case is concluded in the court. These strategies certainly help, causing less women to turn hostile.
Anshumala: When I first started working in this space I did not know much about the laws and how they affect women. But I always wanted to work for the society and its betterment.
I used to teach kids earlier. I always believed in the power of education. I initially worked in an organisation in Varanasi for a couple of years before joining AALI. I did not know a lot about ‘feminism’, ‘rights based approach’ and the specific language associated with the women’s rights movement. I have gradually understood them over the years.
Anshumala: In small towns and many parts of rural India, women are not allowed to even step out. They are not literate and know nothing about their rights. Access to learning opportunities and power of decision-making are limited as well.
If and when they step out, they walk into a deeply patriarchal society, where they are told to ‘compromise’. If they point at discrimination, they are told to live with it because every woman faces it.
I have seen that when a woman goes to the police station to file a complaint, the police try to ‘mediate’ in the matter. Women are told that living with their family and compromise is in their best interest. But this doesn’t stop violence, and makes a woman feel overwhelmed and helpless.
When women realise and resist sexual violence from their partners, they are told that they are raising their voice as a result of becoming aware. Sometimes this is used as a reason to restrict their movement.
Anshumala: The enormity of the task is such that no one organisation or individual can achieve anything by themselves. We have to come together and work on various issues. Each organisation has its own perspective, battles and conflicts. But we have to remember that we are united by the cause – of creating an equal society where women are seen as an individual with rights and autonomy.
While it is fine to work on individual cases and enable access to justice to each survivor, nothing will happen unless the system and social structure change. More organisations need to incorporate a feminist and rights-based lens in their work.
Anshumala is Program Coordinator at AALI since 2010. Her primary engagement is leadership building among women from marginalised communities.
Lead illustration by Sensvector.
