Breaking the silence

Around 100 women have gathered in a small village in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The nearest town is an hour's drive by car. The women are here for a sitting of the "Nari Adalat" or female court. Pushpa told the women how her daughter was murdered because she could not make the dowry her son-in-law's family was demanding.

"My son-in-law's family wanted a motorbike and a gold chain as dowry," Pushpa said. "I couldn't afford these things, so they beat my daughter to death. Then they set her on fire. When they were finished, they just left her remains on the ground." Her daughter's husband has now demanded Pushpa's other daughter for his wife.

Pushpa's story is a familiar one on the Indian subcontinent. According to criminal statistics, a dowry killing is reported every 77 minutes. Women in poorer and more rural areas of the country are the predominant victims. Patriarchal social structures and the caste system are so deeply rooted in rural Indian society that gender inequality and discrimination against women is widely accepted, said Mumta, one of the organizers of the women's court in Uttar Pradesh.

Girls are often married off before they reach puberty. They are treated like prisoners in their new homes and are regularly beaten by their husbands. For the large part, the girls are denied any opportunity to study.

Some success stories

There are small signs of change, however. In one case, a girl was gang raped by village men as a warning to those women who were starting to actively demand more rights.

"I went to the police, but they had been bribed and refused to arrest the men," Mumta said. "They accused the girl of being a prostitute."

It was only after all the women in the village gathered to demonstrate in front of the police station that the police finally bothered to arrest the boys.

"In the end, the boys were so severely punished that they will never again think about raping a woman," Mumta said. It is only recently that rape has been taken before the police in the first place. The number of registered complaints about violence against women is rising and so is the number of cases now being won by women.

Refuge in the "Women's Court"

Judgments passed by the Nari Adalat are not recognized by the state. But they are widely accepted by the participants.

"The Nari Adalats are accessible to the people and they are free," said Safia Zamir, the regional coordinator of the women's courts. This is the reason for their success. They are now recognized much further afield than the localities over which they hold jurisdiction, Zamir said.

In 2005, some 1,000 women worldwide were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Six of them were from the organization Mahila Samakhya, which aims to further women's education and women's enablement. It also initiated the women's courts. The organization's international acclaim has managed to positively influence male attitudes in Uttar Pradesh.

"My husband has completely changed," said one of the local women. "He has even offered to cook for me when I am taking part in Mahila Samakhya meetings." She is happy that the silence is broken.

Authors: Meenu Khare/Anja Kueppers
Editor: Sabina Casagrande