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India: An Act to the Rescue

By Tarannum

It is a small village in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Around 50 women are assembled near the 'chaupal', the central public space. Those gathered are waiting for their 'sangha' (federation) members. A little away, in a corner, a man sits with his head cast down. He is quiet. Seated across from him is his wife. A few elderly women of the village accompany her.

Soon, the last 'sangha' member, who is also the head of the 'nari adalat' (women's court), arrives and the hearing commences. Both parties put forth their points of view. After they finish, the members of 'nari adalat' pull out copies of 'Gharelu Hinsa Adhiniyam', a booklet that contains information on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. They distribute the copies among the audience. A 'nari adalat' member stands up to address the crowd, "Hamari sarkaar ne mahilaon ki suraksha ke liye yeh kanoon banaya hai. Iske hisaab se kisi bhi shadishuda aurat ko koi bhi uske ghar se bahaar nahin nikaal sakta aur uspe hinsa karne wale ko saza bhi hogi aur jurmana bhi. (Our government has made this law for the safety of women. As per the law, no one can throw a married woman out of her house and, if anyone does, he will be punished and fined)."

Thereafter, the members deliberate on the case and the court delivers the verdict. The man accused of throwing out his wife is found guilty and directed to take her back and pay her a monthly allowance of Rs 500 (US$1 = Rs 42.7). The man agrees. The wife appears satisfied and so, too, the 'nari adalat' members.

The scenes described here are actually from an advocacy skit put up by members of a 'nukkad natak' (street theatre) group of the Mahila Samakhya (MS) Uttar Pradesh (UP), a state Department of Education and Ministry of Human Resource Development initiative. The skit spreads awareness about the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and helps people understand the workings of a 'nari adalat'.

Each district 'nukkad natak' group comprises 12 to 16 MS 'sangh' women. These women, mostly in the age group of 35 to 50 years, are locals, who have specially trained by professional theatre persons to put up skits. The script is prepared with the help of an MS resource person, keeping in mind the specific suggestions of the 'natak' group members. Each member is paid Rs 100 per show.

The groups put up one performance per week, and usually publise about it by putting up posters in the villages and by making announcements at the MS meetings in the area. To ensure that both women and men are present, the performances are staged at a time convenient to everyone.

The 14 'nukkad natak' groups functional across the state have greatly contributed to the effective advocacy of the Act as well as the functioning of the 'nari adalats'. Kusuma Devi, 28, a team member from Chitrakoot, puts it this way, "We want to demonstrate through our theatre that men cannot beat their wives, daughters or any women living in their homes, and escape. There is a law which protects every woman, whether in the house or outside."

'Nari adalats', the informal system of dispensing justice within a rights framework, is an initiative of MS in UP. It began five years back, with the primary aim to empower women by assisting them to strive for equality by making them conscious of the need for information, awareness and personal growth.

Dr Smriti Singh, programme officer, Mahila Samakhya, UP, observes, "Initially, we had been trying to create awareness about the Act amongst the rural women, especially in districts where the incidence of violence against women was higher. But, after a while, we realised that the Act can also help them get justice. Since the 'nari adalats', run by women, have social sanction in almost all the districts in which we initiated them, the Act is being used to effectively settle disputes and cases."

An increasing number of women in villages across 16 districts of UP now approach the women's courts to resolve marital problems and draw attention to incidents of violence such as rape and those related to dowry, as well as workplace violations.

The districts where the Act is being publicised, include Mishrikh and Bisawan blocks in Sitapur in central UP; Chhata block in Mathura; Balliakhedi and Rampur Maniharan blocks in Saharanpur; Oon in Muzzafarnagar in Western UP, and Chitrakoot in the Bundelkhand region.

While, in Sitapur, cases of bigamy by husbands are common, in districts like Mathura, Muzzafarnagar and Saharanpur, cases of harassment or physical abuse by the husband or his family are greater. Shyamadevi, 40, a 'sangha' and 'nari adalat' member from Mathura, says, "We have a lot of cases where women are beaten up by their husbands who come home drunk. Since it is difficult for such women to go to the police station and register complaints, they come to us. Earlier, we used to settle such cases by threatening the man - we used to ask 50 women to stand outside his house and shout slogans against him. But now we take recourse to the Act and threaten to arrest him if he doesn't correct his ways. So far, the women we have helped have never returned with a complaint."

Saroj, 35, a 'sangha' and 'nari adalat' member from Saharanpur, explains the strategy deployed to address bigamy cases, "The first thing we tell them is that the second marriage is illegal and that the first wife has every right to stay in the house. We settle the case by asking the husband to pay monetary compensation to the wife and also let her stay in the house. To make sure that there is no problem after the case is settled, we ask the local 'panchayat' (village council) members to intervene and support our decision."

So far the men in the village have not proved hostile to the Act, unlike their urban counterparts, some of whom have termed it as 'anti-men'. Shivkumar, 45, of Biswan in Sitapur, says, "We know that the next time we abuse our wives, we will be punished not just by the 'panchayat' or the women, but even the government. And it is not just a monetary penalty, but also imprisonment. Besides, these women will also write slogans outside our house."

Jagat Ram Yadav, 55, a 'panchayat' member from Sitapur, is now more than aware of the implications of wife beating, "Ab toh auraton ki shakti ko sarkar ka saath mil gaya (now the women have been strengthened because the government has taken their cause)." Wise words indeed.

(Courtesy: Women's Feature Service)