Today’s journey took us to the old part of Hyderabad. This district has been suffered from continuous riots and social tension between Moslems and Hindus since the independence.
Here, in a shaken residential area, the small NGO Shaheen is active. Shaheen addresses two issues: 1. Domestic violence and women rights, and 2. conflicts between Moslems and Hindus. It provides a space, where women from both religions can come together, get training (e.g. in handcrafts, self defence and legal rights) and spread out together to visit their neighbours raising awareness for those issues.
And since those issues are not just restricted to one area, Shaheen is scaling up with having opened houses in three other neighbourhoods.
We met the energetic founder, Jameela Nishat, and approximately 20 girls and women. Hearing their personal experiences was just so frustrating; here is one: A women with a deformed face told us, that her husband had cut off her nose while she was pregnant. She was brave enough (with the support of Shaheen) to take that incident to the court – and after seven years she has been adjusted a little financial compensation; however, her husband has not been sentenced in any other way. Statistically, in every other household women are victims of domestic violence. And that behaviour seems to be so deeply engraved in the society, that nearly everyone is willing to accept it is a given. Being raised in such an environment, the following quote of one of those girls is not a big surprise: “I am nothing”.
However, seeing those women, there is hope, that there will be a change in society, even if there seems to be a long way ahead. And eventually, all girls will proudly state “I am something special”.
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1 comment:
How sad to read the words "I am nothing'. In a place where you are suggesting that the men get away with such appalling violence, I wonder if they realize how unacceptable their behaviour is? Have you had the opportunity to meet with any people who work with these men? Are their any such projects do you know? Or maybe, as usual, it comes down to lack of funding and resources. If the men don't change then there's little hope for their partners. Keep blogging! You are transporting me from the very lush green of the rain forest here on The West Coast of The South Island, to the crowded and teeming multi coloured streets of The Sub Continent!
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