I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for giving me this incredible opportunity to intern with Majlis, this was truly the best internship in 5 years of my law school.I will forever cherish my learnings and experiences that I took away from each and every person at Majlis.
Sudeshna Dutta
Intern
I admire the bottom up work structure of Majlis contributing to a healthy work environment. The thing that will stay with me the most will be the personal connections between the team and the integration of interns in the workplace, the way interns are included in all the functions and events during the course of their internship. I admire the work that majlis does and will be grateful to have been part of it.
Namrata Rao
Intern
I absolutely love the work environment. I love everyone’s passion for the cause, and I especially love that it felt like such a safe space. I loved that I was given the opportunity to speak to clients directly, since that allowed me to hear their lived experiences from themselves, and I really appreciate how the entire procedure from first response till litigation and even thereafter is entirely dedicated to make the victims into survivors.
Reonia Mathew
Intern
We are grateful to Majlis for the session on POCSO. We thoroughly enjoyed the interactive session and felt we could go on the full day. Grateful to Majlis and our partnership. Our 22 members of the forum who attended will benefit greatly.
Nayan Mali
Forum for Prevention of Human Trafficking
The organisation holds space for debate and discussion. The kind of support that is provided to women and children is holistic. I think it is important to provide a non-judgemental space to victims where they can speak freely and Majlis does just that.
Samiksha Singh
Hello, It is a painful reading. I can imagine what you all went through in the process. Kudos to Majlis for standing tall – as always. Best Regards.
Savita Kulkarni
We first met Rubina, at a legal aid clinic held at our partner NGO Jagruti Kendra, in Sep-2023. In less than 9 months we have successfully managed to close her case via Mubarat (Mutual Consent Divorce).
Rubina 26 years and her husband 34 years were both divorcees when they got married two years ago. Soon after marriage Rubina contracted TB. Rubina was immediately sent back to her mother’s house and even when she recovered her husband’s family refused to take her back. Married women are often ostracised by their families when they contract a communicable disease.
When we met Rubina initially she was desperate to live with her husband even though her husband had started living with his first wife and children again. As a first step we documented Rubina’s story and drafted her written police complaint. We then conducted a settlement meeting with her husband, but the settlement talks failed. Rubina was desperate to save the marriage and wanted her husband to accept both wives and divide his time equally. We explained to Rubina that it was not practical in the long run.
Our Saksham team helped Rubina join a course in fashion designing. It took a lot of handholding, but Rubina finally realised that there was so much she could do with her life and that there was nothing left in this marriage. Finally Rubina agreed for a divorce. Her husband returned her jewellery and mehr* and the Mubarat was done at Majlis office in an amicable way.
It is only in Muslim marriage that a mutual consent divorce can be done on a stamp paper and does not require a long and tedious court procedure.
* Gift by the husband to the wife at the time of a muslim marriage.
Names have been changed to protect privacy.
‘Ummeed’ celebrates the courage and determination of women who have stood up against violence and emerged stronger. Through this sharing, we hope to inspire others to take the first step.
About Majlis We are a team of women lawyers and social workers who work for the protection and promotion of women and children’s rights through legal representation, advocacy and training. We provide social and legal support to women and children victims of sexual and domestic violence.
On 5th August, 2024 we received a call from a very disturbed mother reporting that her 15-year-old child had been sexually abused by 3 brothers who were owners of her coaching class. The abuse was done individually by each accused, on multiple occasions, over the past two years. Her daughter was undergoing counselling where she reported the abuse to the counsellor who then informed the mother. The mother had contacted another lawyer who told her the case was weak as they did not have sufficient evidence.
Majlis’ First Response team reassured the mother and explained the law and procedure. Even though her daughter was very keen on reporting, the mother was afraid of backlash from the accused. She explained to us that she was recently divorced and she did not want to get into another legal case. She wanted to move out of the area and help her child forget the incident. We informed her about Mandatory Reporting* and also the risk to other girls if she did not report. We assured her of Majlis’ support throughout the process. She was still unsure and told us she would get back.
We immediately called our partner NGO who had referred the case. They were aware of mandatory reporting but had asked the mother to speak to us for clarification. We suggested a joint meeting so we could assure the mother and child in the presence of the counsellor and move forward with the reporting. However, the mother refused and subsequently stopped her daughter’s counselling. The counsellor was extremely scared as now she would have to report the case. We assured her that we would be there at every stage. After much discussion, reassuring seniors and given their other prior commitments, finally on 19th September 2024, the counsellor along with Majlis representatives went to the police station to report the case. What transpires here is nothing short of a nightmare. It is only because of the knowledge of the law, dedication and perseverance of the Majlis team that the case came to be recorded.
The police officer after hearing the incident refused to record the FIR. They insisted on calling the mother and child but their phones were unavailable. We explained mandatory reporting but they told us – what if the child is imagining the incident! We tried in vain to tell them that the mother is refusing to record an FIR and the complainant is the counsellor and is here to report under mandatory reporting. Finally after spending several hours speaking to the Investigating Officer, Sr. Police Inspector and Assistant Commissioner of Police, they agreed to take our application and told us that they would conduct a pre-investigation and get back to us. We obliged even though this is against the law in sexual abuse cases. For the next few days, we continued to follow up with the police as to the action they were taking.
On 24th September the counsellor was summoned to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). At the CWC we were shocked when the police informed us that they had called the mother and child to the police station and that the mother had given them in writing that she did not wish to record an FIR. The Police asked the CWC to decide the further action. We explained to the police that the CWC does not have the power to decide on the recording of an FIR. The CWC requested us to give the counselling notes to the police for pre-investigation, which we blatantly refused. The CWC finally accepted that they did not have the power and requested us to cooperate with the police.
Losing patience we spoke to the Joint Commissioner of Police and informed him about the blatant violation of the law. He assured us all support and on the next day the counsellor got a letter to report to the police station to record the FIR. It took almost 6 hours at the police station and yet the FIR was not completed. The next day the police called the counsellor back to the police station but we refused stating that the counsellor had already spent so much time on the case and she had other responsibilities. We asked the police to come to her office to take her signature which they did.
Reading about the case in today’s newspapers we felt it is important to document the ordeal of reporting. The effort it takes – from identifying the mother’s reluctance to report, to convincing the counsellor to report, to persistently following up with the police, arguing with the police and CWC about the law, involving police higher-ups and finally recording of the FIR! What a mammoth effort.
But we are left with so many questions. What if Majlis was not there? Since the mother and child are refusing to cooperate will this be termed as a false case? Worse still, because the accused are young will it be called a Romeo-Juliet case? What is the pressure that will be put on the mother and child by the accused? Will Majlis be able to reach out to them to offer support? In meetings and conferences the Police, CWC and other stakeholders wax eloquent about how they ensure the law is followed in letter and spirit. The reality on the ground is far from that.
It is often difficult to explain Majlis’ work. It is challenging because on the one hand, we have a favourable law but on the other hand no one wants to use it – not the victim or her family (for fear of backlash, intimidating procedures and other reasons) nor the stakeholders responsible for upholding the law.
About Majlis Majlis is a team of women lawyers, social workers, academicians and activists who work for the protection and promotion of women and children’s rights through legal representation, advocacy and training. Majlis’ Rahat offers legal and social support to women and children victims of sexual and domestic violence. Majlis’ Flavia Agnes Centre for Learning is a multi-disciplinary hub for advancing knowledge, promoting research and fostering discourse on the intersection of gender, law and society.
*Mandatory Reporting S. 19 POCSO Act, all persons have been made duty-bound to report sexual offences against children. Failure to report is punishable with imprisonment that may extend to six months or a fine or both under S. 21 of the Act.
Written by Audrey Dmello, Director Majlis
National consultation on compensation to victim’s of rape organised by NCW and Majlis in Mumbai on 28th August, 2011