Stop Violence Against Women in South Asia

Shantabai lives in a small village in Maharashtra, India. She is the fifth child and has ten siblings. Her father had originally worked as a bricklayer. Shantabai was a child bride and was married to a five-year-old boy at the age of only one year. Shantabai, although she officially went to school, never attended classes because she was teased at school for belonging to an “untouchable” caste. Today, she has painstakingly taught herself the essentials to be able to do her job as a legal advisor.

Shantabai is leading the campaign to raise awareness of violence against women in her district. Belonging to the Maitri network helps Shantabai to expand her competencies. She regularly takes part in meetings and training workshops for “paralegals”, organized by the project. This has enabled her to become familiar with various laws and programs for women and children. Today, she regularly conducts consultations, organizes training sessions, interacts with government officials and trains activists in her community.

Although she was a child bride herself, she now works in her district to abolish child marriages. In the past, like everyone else, she participated in children’s weddings as a matter of course. But now she has realized the negative effects of this practice and she is fighting against it. She takes a courageous stand by refusing to participate in such weddings. Since she has become a well-known activist and thus a person of respect, her words and deeds matter.

Shantabai says: “I have been working with women for 30 years – working with this project has helped me to systematically involve difficult groups like government officials. After all, they have to deal with cases of violence against women. We try to support every woman affected. This has led to the fact that the official responsible for intervention in cases of domestic violence now has to deal with 40 % more cases. He has already complained!”

Your support helps women like Shantabai reach their potential, and inspire girls and women to realise it's possible for them, too. Thank you! 

Dear Supporter,

The UN has described the disastrous effect of the coronavirus pandemic for women and girls' rights as 'the shadow pandemic'. Millions of girls have lost access to education and many have experienced a dramatic increase in abuse and violence. That's why the work of the Maitiri Network is more needed than ever before. 

This month, the Maitri Network organized a one-day workshop in Villuparam district in South India to promote gender equality and raise awareness about violence against women.  Often, stakeholders such as police, aid agencies, media, and legal advisors who deal with cases of violence cannot come together to provide holistic support to women.

Therefore, The Maitri Network promotes platforms where stakeholders can come together to share ideas and provide adequate support to victims and survivors of violence. Many community leaders, activists, social workers, lawyers and female police officers were able to attend the workshop and discuss ways to work together.

This collaborative approach ensures that gender equality is seen as a priority for all genders and across communities. Your support helps these awareness-raising and attitude-changing workshops happen.

Thank you!