 It is again an honour and privilege to welcome the second speaker of our technical session, Anurita Pathak Madhu. An eminent women's rights activist, Anurita Pathak, has been associated with the Nautis Network NEN from 1998, building her stint with one of the earliest women's rights organisations of Nautis India as a student volunteer and is now the state coordinator of its Assam branch. She is renowned and revered for her immense contribution to the cause of empowering women in the region. She has been vocal on women's issues and is known for her work on gender and violence against women, representing voices of marginalised and disadvantaged women from local to global forums. In the year 2020, she was felicitated with the Global Award 2020 by Global Adieu Leadership forum for her unique contribution to the cause of women. She is a resource person on women's issues to several government and non-government human agencies, educational institutions and public sector undertakings and esteem. N is a professional trainer on different gender issues. Apart from her master's degree from Guwahati University, she also has to her credit a specialisation in women's human rights course from the University of Oxford. It will not be an exaggeration to say that her works ensure that the society should believe in the famous saying, try and live this world a little better than you have found it. The KKHSOU fraternity is indeed very grateful to her for accepting our invitation and encouraging us with her presence today. Madam, it is an honour to have you with us today and she will be delivering upon the topic, justice to women reflections from the grassroots. I request Dr. Ingrali Deka to kindly felicitate Dr. Anuradha Patan, Madam. Thank you, Dr. Ingrali Deka. Over to you, ma'am. We look forward to your deliberation. Thank you. Very good afternoon to the others who have been here and I would like to thank the KKHSOU University for inviting us to this network and inviting me to share our grassroots discussions with you again. The keynote addressed the deliberations of the previous speaker and he is very interesting because the set of justice and gender-based violence are talking only a little bit because I have my reasons, I have my lived experiences and community experiences. So what happens is, it is complex. That's why we can never end in a 30-minute deliberation and by the time it is just about 30 minutes we are in short of time, I represent the notice network which is a women's rights organisation active in the KKHSOU environment for the past 20-30 years. Since I don't need to talk about what is a past threat or what does it do, how does it affect, what are its advantages and disadvantages, I will jump into what NEN as a feminist organisation has actually put things, trying to put things right on the ground to have the last mild impact to reach out to the last woman in the district and I again would like to say that you know accessing justice rather the pathway for women to access justice is very still elusive in India and Assam is not less notorious and in this regard we have seen that why is it that we always talk of laws for women, why is it that we are talking of past threats, past threat courts in delivering justice to women, it has to be women and we are not going to compromise about it. There are no two ways about it, my speaker who is also a friend of mine I think because speaker has left, why do we need these laws and why do we need past threat courts for women, don't stop at past threat courts could stop, for women it is to address and redress a historical injustice on women. We want to give justice to our grandmothers, we want to give justice to our mothers, we want to give justice to us to go for past threat courts. So this discussion, this movement, this debate will continue and that is we will take another 100 and 100 and 100 of years only when we will be able to change this banner and say past threat courts for all. Now when I see what the constitution of India is very clear everybody is equal in the eyes of the law, nobody and there are so many laws for women but there are many problems why both women and men have under justice needs and there is no denial about it. And but because of women's, when I am talking about women I include but I continue to say women, women because of women's different identities and positions in the society their justice needs actually require critical attention and that is why we have this force that is why we have this seminar or as we wouldn't have been here today. The what happens is because of our lead experiences women face violence, exploitation, exclusions, marginalization and discrimination and it is for these reasons that women they are specific, they are specific their behaviors and biases in the justice mechanisms and systems because of which women are not able to grab those opportunities. Previous people have already said, assistants are not enabling, assistants are not inclusive and assistants are not gender responsive. That is why women have different identities, whether she belongs to a traditionalism woman who belongs to an LGBT white master community the moment she ends up in the police station or in the shelter home justice is not about courts, justice is not about the police, justice is also about the shelter home where a lesbian woman or a partner she is brought to the home and immediately the phone call comes to her by the end of the, does everybody understand, Asim is here, except for one or two, would say that you know this to women needs connection, that is not justice because the shelter is supposed to provide at most fair varieties, residents are you know I mean to be inclusive, so that is where we go around. Now what happens is the other problem is about virtual courts you know which during the pandemic there are many examples of the grassroots at the community level from North East Network that I would share but I would just give one more example during the pandemic we had just, we actually had there was this announcement that Supreme Court High Court lower courts would run virtual and treat justice for certain category of cases on a priority basis. That included cases related to bail, that included cases related to box or it did not is your cases related to maintenance of maintenance which were filed by women in a abusive domestic relationship. So if we keep saying and glorifying a sentence which is justice denied and justice delayed, no, we have to remove those statements from our epitaphs, our history books and our course and law books because we don't prioritize the gender experience of women. Wish the courts during the time had said maintenance of women, agreed women which has been lying in queue for years even during the pandemic we would treat them on a priority basis. It did not happen that is why the many rally masks and the Rita scale back to us and said it's not a priority for the court now. So there who is denied, who is delayed? Me because we don't actually prioritize them. Now coming to the agency of women, do we recognize them as agencies or we, because women have never claimed to be victims. Women have always said that we are rightful, we are equal, we are equal citizens and we are equal rights holders. Women have said that we are victims of victims of the recipients of a wetless day. So we because we do not recognize women's agency and if we do not recognize women's agency, women have no control and access over legal resources. There are many resources available for women in the community level and these could be, you know, the head clients, the shenpa example I will give, legal aid, among others. Let me give the example of legal services authority of India has displayed legal aid services, state legal aid services. The lawyers were adamant that they are being motivated. They are supposed to give free services to the women because we brought a lot of gender based violence and we have direct intervention services. They are not motivated because their fee is not released on time. So once again that all the women come back, it goes on and on and on and our system is pushing women to the margins as a result of which we are still glorifying the statement justice denied in the justice debate and I don't really disagree. Impossible bringing that line and say that, you know, this is not what we are going to start with. If we start with gender justice to women and then the other thing is about women have no information, women have no access or control over these resources also because of our customs. In many tribal societies where we are functioning, we have communities about services in poor districts. Domestic violence is not recognized as violence. What happens is the men and the women are brought to the forefront. The customary every 20s, you know, village elders may become, there will be women who come as onlookers and witnesses and only one fifth of the cases reach the public justice system. They are made to fight, we are fine and that's where it ends. So women, it remains confined to the community level and they cannot move to the next steps. Now the authority is again about the statistics. What has been, with all your respect to all the agencies' response mandated to start gender-based violence? Assam is every year, the NCRB says this guy is the third in the country, tomorrow it will be the fifth in the country, the other day it will be something else. The fifth position he cries against women in the country. What is a normal answer? Women are empowered, they are coming out of the homes, we have better systems, we have sensitive enforcement agencies, all said and well done. But my argument would be, how do we prevent women from going to these services? We have to talk of gender-based violence at the household level, we have to talk of gender and violence at the household level, only then the women, if we can stop here, the women will not go, the women will not have to go and give statements and record the statements and talk about services. Are we doing that? Are we doing it at the household level at all or not? If we do, if we talk, if we address gender and patriarchy and gender-based violence on women at the household level, maybe in the future there will be no question of women going to register cases and registration of cases is only at the tip of the iceberg. What we are seeing is those cases and below the iceberg is much bigger, like we have seen cases which are registered on domestic violence by our own communities about services, actually a small video and you'll be able to understand the concept. International instruments, constitutions, laws and laws and laws for women. But these biases remain, do women misuse laws? To the students I am asking, do women misuse laws? Okay, show of hands. No, I am not asking you to argue, just show of hands. Do women misuse laws? Yes. Yes, and I am saying no. And you are asking me why? Yes, so your argument is even all men misuse law, it's a perception in a patriarchy, general perceptions which have glorified myself, institutions, text books and you know what are the problems that you know, Mojina is talking about, misto lea tiruta. Now who is this misto lea tiruta? Who is this woman who is lying? I am in a state of non-facing violence. I go running, beating my chest to the station, police station, police space that you know get caught up on the doubt to even write. And next day I come away and say that, you know, I don't know what experience is it? I have turned less in this area. But anybody ask me why I am withdrawing that case because I am under pressure from the family, prestige. Number two, I don't even know to read and write. Number three, the justice systems are elaborate, expensive. Thirty who is going to pay, I am not working, who is going to pay for my children. All the expenses, nobody has asked me. Day one, I go running to register my case. Day five, between day two and day four, nobody questioned me. Nobody even came to me to ask why did I withdraw my case. So that is why we are in a hurry to say misto lea tiruta and we are in this case now which is completely out of it. Now, yes, I think, special students please I will give it out. Give this hypothesis. Day one registration, one, two, three, four. These four three days, nobody came to the government to ask anything. Now it's very difficult for me to navigate to a complex justice system which is not inclusive, which is not gender responsive, which is not sensitive. And there are also these customs which are being, which are being this part. Now I don't get so much into statistics as already has been said and in regards to tendency, some kids, you know it's like that ecograph, this guy is the sixth, next guy, it's very good for reports and media reports and research, you know more, we need those statistics people and charities. But at the ground level, what are the reasons for tendency is already been said enough. Then there's impunity which is enjoyed by the corporate traders. India's population, I think that the accounts population is a 10% of India's population and then the share of clients is 3%. There are delays in FIR, I'll give an example. There are delays in also FIR because police would also say that let's have a depot, I don't do withdraw. This lethar, lethar is lethar is also based on those beliefs that justice, hurried is justice buried. We have to get away with that because they would also say that you know why you don't do some mid-martial reconciliation, reconciliation, everything at different levels. But women are not those bicharis anymore. You believe women are bicharis, classic victims? They are not random victims in a situation of violence. The risk factor is them-chander. They are survivors, they are aging women and that is where we have to believe in and women belong to different occupations whether they are sex workers, they belong to different identities, to the LGBT community, they are not be marginalized, marginalized. Now, what has men done because there's hardly any time? I just have 15 minutes. I'm cutting short, I will tell you. God has gone to talk about for women, by women and for future women. Don't deny me about men facing harassment but we have to question it. What are we talking about? What is the percentage? What are the recorded cases? The general experience of women in violence is completely different. Do you agree with that or not? It is very different. Imagine a case of sexual violence. Sexual violence still remains a moment's shame. It's a household shame. Who's talking about it? Is anybody out there? The general experience of women in the alien objects being inserted into women's private parts manipulation of different parts of the body that is why there are amendments in the law. That is why we immediately need certain justice mechanisms which will give me, which will provide me some way of hope. Now, not just men for example in this organization, starting point is women, end point is women, then factor center is women. We are going to talk about gender violence on women. Now, it is based on gender foundation not just gender body space, based on gender foundations of families change and continuity. So we have women-led initiatives because we are supposed to talk from the grassroots. These initiatives are now, I mean it's a model and those of you who could visit the concept in Mirza, we have it in Sipajar, Gulaghat, Udanguri and also very soon I'm coming up with the same concept in Yamaji. We have actually built capacities and agencies of women. First, recognize agencies of women then build the capacities. These are women who are any one of us but not like the way you and I have studied MA or you know they are women from the ground from the community who are trained on bare foot counseling hour one. They go from house to house because I'm supposed to talk about experiences from the grassroots. They distribute flyers of domestic violence in local language and they say that here is a forum for the last woman in the district that you could come to us. They have community meetings and campaigns and they do a lot of interviews with the local governance that is the district social welfare office and other cases. They work in an ecosystem where they would approach the police, the lawyers, the social welfare protection officers and they don't just go when the case is registered but they also what they do they actually dialogue and meet capacities of the local machinery in that particular area. So and these places like any other political space all families organizations are political spaces. The Rami Nohila chambers in the villages are also safe political spaces managed by community women led by community women because it is here that they talk of collective activism that they talk of women's leadership at the grassroots level. When this leadership cannot be confined to organizations or departments institutions they must filter down to the grassroots. That is where women's access to justice can be more enabling. And this is the space where they talk of mutual protection. We talk of communities of women here are the communities of women that they are everywhere. We just need to recognize them build a capacity believe in their agency and move forward. They come together with solidarity and sisterhood and they register their cases. If they don't want to register cases then they are provided counseling. When they want linkages to be built for divorce or peace intervention they work in and around the ecosystem. So this is how they are doing and I will show a small video rather than talking and somebody will ask you about harassment you know what happens in harassment your question I keep with these questions harassment is of different types harassment which requires which is administrative in matter that will go for disciplinary action you have your order of combat you have your service rules zero reference to those and for sexual harassment we have what is called the internal committee. It is no longer called the internal committee. You know you need to correct the internal committee. So those are there, if there is violation in your regions we have the labour courts, the labour laws so what the organisations need to do is to put this into a policy that for harassment of this nature this is what they are going to do for labour law, violation this is what they are going to do for sexual harassment this is what they are going to do sexual harassment is most complex the denial to believe instead of registering that case and establishing it as a case of sexual harassment and establishing that there is a violation of the women's autonomy or body integrity. First is about characterisation, we will end up looking at facebook pages insta pages of the woman and how she is dressing up and providing a picture on whatsapp and we deny that that is where we can break the myth and move on, thank you after leaving I will show you a small video which is just 5 minutes of women's access to justice at the grassroots level community initiatives by Artist Network I will take your questions in the next chapter Thank you very much 8 years ago in 2014 the Artist Network built a foundation for the political growth into the grounding of the appeal for body and in the shadow of men that addresses head-on and to the ground-up the complex and many leadership of gender-based violence against women and girls As a record of the highest rate in the country of crimes against women for the fourth consecutive year according to the national crimes of 1 euro and occasion of 2020 that also witnessed a shadow pandemic the plans coming by a dangerous recording 27 cases of domestic violence in three districts between April and July of 2020 the biggest challenge to justice was the system attitudinal barrier one that is targeted systemic and structural nature to this model of policing and character assassination that ends up being not just crimes against women but also the fear and stigma they face in society due to their own experiences The government of Canada has identified that the community respects cases per real women and this model is seen as a good practice and it engages the stakeholders from the parents to the children in this we see that the community recognises that the government comes here that provides services to all those women and girls and such services are recognised by the state Set up in four districts across the sun in kind rooms with a village down in a separate village corner flats, door-room village and put out rooms in a store village The centres are actively assisting women suffering violence at home and in their communities This one is a former social counselling Profit activists also assist women to refer in cases of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and trafficking, to further state agencies engaged in the legal system. We are also engaged in the legal system of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and trafficking, to further state agencies engaged in the legal system. We are engaged in the legal system of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and trafficking, to further state agencies engaged in the legal system. In walking through the restaurant staff, do not expect to be able to see spaces for women to show their experiences, but also record them, the world of their later nights. In the restaurant staff, do not expect to be able to see spaces for women to show their experiences, but also record them, the world of their later nights. For your highly enlightening and intriguing deliberation on issues pertaining to women's lack of access to justice, In the decreases of justice delivery mechanisms, so on and so forth, we have significantly brought out the constraints faced by women at the grassroots while finding different forms of injustices and how women have been historically marginalized, which continues even today. I really wish we could have paused time to continue to listen to you more, so with these words I again offer my deep gratitude and thanks on behalf of the organizing committee to you madam for being with us and encouraging us with your presence and for your very very enlightening deliberation. Thank you madam.