THE DECEMBER ISSUE of the ‘Staying Alive’ series – a special series by The Leaflet which aims to create a “living archive” to mark twenty years of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (‘PWDVA’) – brings us critical recollections from three women who campaigned and lobbied for the law, on the ground with stakeholders and with legislators who ultimately pushed for the law. Ruth Manorama, who for decades has led several movements for Dalit women’s rights, and the rights of domestic workers, Anuradha Kapoor, the founder and director of Swayam, a Kolkata based feminist organisation that has remained committed to the issue of violence against women since 1995, and Sheba George, working particularly with women belonging to religious minority communities and Dalit women, share their insights, much of which remains crucial for the future of the Indian women’s movement.
Asmita Basu: You were all part of the delegation of representatives of women’s rights organisations that met Arjun Singh, then Union Minister of Human Resources and Development in 2004 to submit the bill drafted by the Lawyers Collective in consultation with women’s groups. The PWDVA thus institutionalised the praxis of the women’s movement. The kind of work that Swayam, NAWO and so many organisations were already doing is what got translated into the law.
So what was your work at the time, and why did you feel PWDVA was necessary, given that the movement had already secured Section 498A, 304B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC), the dowry prohibition amendments, the Family Courts Act, 1984 and other legal reforms?
Ruth Manorama: During the formation stage of the Act, I was the chair of the National Alliance of Women. NAWO brought together many smaller women’s rights organisations from across the country, and we were working closely with Indira Jaising and the Lawyers Collective at that time. We were also part of the delegation of women activists that submitted the Domestic Violence Bill to Arjun Singh in 2004.
My direct work on violence against women came through Women’s Voice, which is an organisation of women workers from the urban poor and the unorganised sector. We were engaged in community mobilisation, advocacy and relief work, and domestic violence was one of the important issues we kept encountering. Because of this, creating consciousness about domestic violence in the communities we worked with became a major part of our work. For me, the Act became important because it brought women’s human rights into the home.
