PARVAAZ Legal Fellowship Programme

The SAWF IN Legal Fellowship Programme was launched in 2017 provides financial and technical support to women and trans* person lawyers practising in districts courts of India, to strengthen their journey in feminist advocacy and their legal practice, helping them build their skills in litigation, and help provide pro-bono support to women and trans* person litigants in their cases.

Announcement

The women’s and trans* person rights movement has played a pivotal role in advocating for transformation in existing legislation and in the process of access to justice. However, these institutions continue to have an intimidating effect, especially on survivors of violence from marginalised communities. Moreover, the existing legal systems are still patriarchal with a disproportionate number of women and trans* person lawyers and judges practising, especially in district courts.

District courts are the first site of legal redressal and remedy for women and trans* persons. The year-long support of this fellowship is aimed at enabling women and trans* person lawyers to explore opportunities for peer learning, building networks with lawyers from other countries and receiving mentoring support from senior feminist lawyers. Since 2017, the programme has supported 12 women lawyers from 7 states. They have provided pro- bono litigation support for more than 230 women and Trans* people. Additionally, the legal fellows have also offered legal counselling and advice to over 1000 women from socially and economically marginalised communities such as Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslim women among others.

The fellowship aims to support women and trans* person lawyers practising at district courts to:

Provide free legal aid and support to women and trans* person litigants
Build their own skills in feminist lawyering in primary courts, particularly in building constitutional arguments.
Advocate for more gender-responsive lawyering at district courts
Lead and participate in actions that directly contribute to realising the rights of women and trans* people.

Interested to apply – SAWF IN receives applications annually. Individual women, gender non-conforming and non-binary persons and trans* lawyers practising in any district courts of India with at least 2 years of litigation experience are encouraged to apply for the fellowship. Preference will be given to lawyers below the age of 45 years, who belong to socially, economically and ethnically marginalised communities. Since our endeavour is to bridge the gap in the existing patriarchal structure of the legal system, advocates working on laws to protect the rights of women, children and trans* person or active supporters of the Indian women’s rights movement will find this programme most engaging and helpful. Professionals with experience in engaging with communities of women or trans* people, and facilitating their leadership are encouraged to apply.

Please visit our website for announcements or write to fellowship.sawfin@gmail.com for more details

Our Current Areas of Operations -

Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Tezu and Roing, Arunachal Pradesh | Wokha, Nagaland |

Current Fellows

Taniya Laskar

Taniya is a young Muslim woman lawyer practicing before the Cachar District Judiciary in Silchar, Assam.

Taniya Laskar

Taniya Hailing from a small town, Taniya realized the importance of women’s political participation in realizing their rights from her experiences. Being a Bengali, the socio-political reforms during the Bengal Renaissance in the 18th and 19th centuries inspired her and as she grew up, she chose law as the tool for her activism. She completed her LLB degree from Assam University, Silchar, with scholarship support. She practiced in Gauhati High Court for three years, before moving back to her hometown, Silchar. Taniya practices cases of violence, and crimes against women, specializing in domestic violence and also on property and land rights. She has been practicing on the issue of citizenship at the Foreigners' Tribunals in Cachar for the last three years.

Shanchobeni Lotha

Shanchobeni specialises in working with women and girls and their issues of violence and abuse. She supports indigenous tribal women in availing various schemes and entitlements, in Wokha, Nagaland.

Shanchobeni Lotha

Shanchobeni belongs to the Lotha Tribe in Nagaland. It was her childhood dream to become a lawyer. She, however, faced a lot of opposition from her community and extended family when she started studying. Despite these obstructions, she followed her dream and became the first lawyer in her village. Today she is an empanelled lawyer with the National Legal Services Authority and has been conferred the Best Panel Lawyer of Nagaland State and Northeast Zone in 2019. She is also empanelled with various organisations and institutions in Wokha. Like most tribal communities in Nagaland, customary laws are still prevalent in Shanchobeni’s tribe. These customs and practices vary from tribe to tribe, but the overarching theme is the fact that women are not allowed to take part in family disputes. Only male members from both parties can participate and deliberate. Sanchobeni works to create awareness on the rights of women and their entitlements. But she finds that men are usually reluctant to get this information and do not feel the need to participate. To ensure easier access to the legal institutions and processes, she translates legal awareness information into local dialects through leaflets, pamphlets etc. Through this fellowship Sanchobeni wants to work especially with women whose spouses have passed away, girls and women facing violence and abuse. She wants to support them by providing legal assistance. She feels that most women are silent to abuse due to fear of social stigma and lack of awareness. They hardly have any knowledge of their legal rights as mandated in the Constitution; and therefore they don’t approach the legal system for remedies or protection. She would like to work with women and enable them access to protection orders and also access to nodal officers, rehabilitation centres and mid-way houses where they may find a support group and also find means to become selfsustained. Sanchobeni will also be collaborating with various Government Departments, individuals, religious organisations, non-governmental organisation and other stakeholders to reach out to a larger number of women. These could be in the form of awareness and sensitisation programmes, workshop, demonstration and training programmes along with identifying and supporting women beneficiaries to avail various schemes and entitlements.

Bulia Pulu

Bulia is one of the first women lawyers from her tribe, advocating for women’s rights and providing free legal services to many women in her area, Tezu and Roing, District, Arunachal Pradesh.

Bulia Pulu

Bulia belong to Idu Mishmi Tribe, a sub tribe of Mishmis, mainly inhabiting Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. Bulia lost her father when she was 8 years old and her mother single handedly took care of four children. Bulia completed her schooling in a missionary school and graduated in science. Despite being well educated and a working woman, Bulia faced domestic violence during her marriage, which she had to experience for an extended period of time due to the prevailing customary laws and social practices. She then went on to finish her L.L.B. in 2013, and started practicing in trial courts. Today, she advocates for women’s rights and provides free legal services to many women in her area. Bulia was also instrumental in forming Enjalu Menda Women’s Empowerment Forum (EWEF); an NGO working to address issues of domestic violence, drug abuse and other issues faced by tribal women, in collaboration with the district administration and other stakeholders in Nagaland. The biggest battle for Bulia is convincing survivors of domestic violence to come forward and seek legal remedies by accessing systems of justice like the district courts. As most of these women are from economically weak sections, they are completely dependent on their husbands for their sustenance and do not have the financial freedom to pay legal fees. Due to fear of backlash and recrimination from the community, survivors often do not lodge complaints against their perpetrators. Oftentimes, post a judgement that is in favour of the survivors , Bulia has been threatened and faced intimidation from the perpetrators and their families. Through this fellowship Bulia wants to provide tribal women access to the legal framework provided by our Constitution and also motivate her community members to understand the need for change in the existing customary laws. The fellowship will also help her in expanding her understanding of how the issues faced by women of the tribal communities in other parts of our country are dealt with. She feels that the fellowship will facilitate her learning and enhance her skills to deal with cases for women. She hopes that the fellowship will provide her greater exposure to understand how to deal with rehabilitation of the women as they attempt to start a new life after the judgement. She recognises that it is important for her to interact with other lawyers working in this field and understand their success stories and strategies.

Chethana V

Chethana takes up cases on domestic, gender-based violence, sexual abuse and gender identity issues, with special interest in the LGBTQIA + rights and awareness, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Chethana V

Chethana decided to study law after completing her school education. She graduated from Gujarat National Law University with a degree in commerce and law. She aimed to be a corporate lawyer and started working in a top corporate law firm in Mumbai. However, she soon realised, corporate law was not a career she wanted to pursue and that her ideas of pursuing law are firmly rooted in rights-based litigation and assisting people from different walks of life. She moved to Chennai in 2018 and began litigating in the Madras High Court, family courts, trial courts and district courts in the Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu. Chethana began to take up cases on domestic violence, gender-based violence, sexual abuse and gender identity issues, assisting a senior lawyer in conducting workshops and seminars on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, legal remedies available for LGBTQIA + individuals with respect to unlawful detention, police brutality, and malicious prosecution based on their gender identity. Along with her seniors she also assisted the Learned Amicus Curiae appointed by the Madras High Court to inspect certain sub-jails, special prisons for women, and central jails in the state as part of a proceeding to examine the conditions of prisons in Tamil Nadu. Chethana wants to learn more about grass root LGBTQIA+ movements in Tamil Nadu and spend time with the community to find out the informal dispute redressal mechanisms that already exist, in order to not tread or be disrespectful of the existing structures. She hopes to also work with lawyers across the country to compile a list of judgements from various High Courts, in order to see how the law has been implemented. She believes it would benefit lawyers across the country if such a database exists. Through the fellowship she hopes to start her own practice across trial courts which will enable her to reach out to more individuals who are not in tier one cities or metropolitan areas. At the end of this fellowship, she would hopefully have collected data through RTI regarding various benefits for trans* individuals across India to see if there is any uniformity in the approach between the different states. Apart from this, she would also look into the number of certificates that have been issued under the new Trans Act and its general compliance. This she believes will help the second wave of litigation required to fight for equal marriage rights and adoption/ parental rights. Through the fellowship Chethana hopes to connect with lawyers her age, and identify possible ways to influence and transform existing structures for the better, as a collective.

Past Fellows

Sasimansi Sasimansi is a young lawyer from Bhubaneswar who is dedicated to supporting women's rights work and providing legal assistance to local women’s groups in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar. Sasimansi	Savita Ali Savita is a strong advocate of Dalit women's rights. She runs free legal clinics and supports pro-bono cases for women in need, especially from the marginalised Muslim communities in Patna, Bihar. Savita Ali	Rukhsar Memon Ruksar is an independent practising lawyer in the Bombay High Court, focusing on family matters. She is deeply committed to the issues of women and children especially from the marginalised Muslim communities, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Read More Rukhsar Memon “I have always been passionate about doing something different, in our community, girls are not allowed to pursue law. I am the first female lawyer in the Muslim community I am from. I have always seen women being suppressed and not being able to pursue what they want to pursue.” Rukhsar is an independent practising lawyer in the Bombay High Court, focusing on family matters. She is a majles empanelled lawyer and has always had a keen interest in working on the issues of women and children, to help them move forward and have better access to opportunities. During her internship with Mulla & Mulla, is when she got the opportunity to pursue the cause and start honing her skills. She then went on to intern with the ‘Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA)’, as a legal researcher and in currently working as their legal advisor. Rukhsar fought the first triple talaak case in the Bombay High Court, and has been BMMA’s spokesperson in the media. Through her work Rukhsar, came to see more and more the issues faced by women especially the social and economically marginalised communities, the slums etc. In the Muslim communities, she says – most of the women are not educated, illiteracy is high. She has therefore been on a mission to spread legal awareness, through workshops and sessions in the communities. Through her initiative in communities, she got involved with the commonwealth human rights initiative, she now also conducts sessions for them, and attends meetings as a member. She also works with an organisation called ‘Free a Girl India’, who work with children rescued from trafficking. Rukhsar helps them with legal advice and training, and also works with them as a motivational speaker. Rukhsar is also a member of ‘Aurato ki shayari adalat’ headed by Kaatun Shaikh at BMMA, which also conducts mediations. The Fellowship, she says, is giving her good exposure and opportunities, interacting with several senior and experienced lawyers, building skill sets at the same time providing access to resources to help many more women, through the funds given. Through the fellowships, she also hopes to pursue her research to study and codify muslim laws and understand how they differ from other family laws out there. Rukhsar also wants to conduct training for police, to make sure they are able better handle cases of distress of women and take the prescribed course of action to support them, by filing an FIR and so on. She also currently handles female adoption matters and their legal procedures. She deals with matters of property of women, making their will, sale deeds, and other property related legal advice and consultations. She works as a POCSO Act consultant for several National and International NGOs. She is also pursuing her LLM from Jindal Global Law School.	Urmila Urmila, is a Dalit women lawyer, advocating for legal rights and justice for women and young girls. She specialises in Domestic violence, dowry, POCSO matters, practicing in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. Urmila
Romita Reang Romita is the first women lawyer from the Reang, a primitive tribal group from a remote village in Gomati district, Agartala, Tripura. She is an active advocate for the rights and leadership of tribal women. Read More Romita Reang “Dalit and Adivasi women are not taken seriously by the local system, police don’t file their FIRs, lawyers ask them to withdraw complaints. In this scenario, my work facilitates their right to access legal services” Romita Reang is a women’s rights lawyer from a remote village in Gomati district in Tripura. She belongs to the Reang tribe, one of the 19 tribes of Tripura that are considered Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG/PTG) in India. During her childhood her village hardly had any road connectivity and proper schooling facilities. Due to this many children in her village, including Romita herself, did not get proper education. Romita was later able to access proper school education when her family shifted out to a neighbouring village which had a missionary school. She always wanted to work for the tribal people of her State who are deprived of access to legal justice due to the language barriers, communication, transportation and lack of awareness about their legal rights. She pursued her BA LLB from a University in Kolkata – unheard of as a career path for anyone from her village. Even after she started practicing, it has been a difficult journey for Romita, being judged for her social upbringing and identity; and the prevalence of informal community court/justice system in the villages. And people not really conforming to the legal system of justice. With the Legal Fellowship by SAWF-IN in 2014, Romita says she truly started her own practice. Before that she was attached to a lawyer and was mostly learning. But with this fellowship she was able to reach out to those women who wanted to file cases in courts but did not have the means to do so, at the same time learn concepts and get support from other lawyers hands on. The fellowship stipend helped her take up pro bono cases and she helped women with transport costs and case filing costs. Through the fellowship, Romita has transitioned from a mere observer at community-based tribunals, to an actual stakeholder, who encourages the use of formal law to bridge the gaps in the community-based systems. Romita also works with the community leaders as a trainer on human rights issues. She takes sessions with the village elders and talks to them about provisions under criminal laws and civil laws, and the mandate of the Constitution, so that they can use some basic tenets of formal law during their mediation and arbitration. She also wants to work with traditional courts of other tribes, as she feels that it is the first point of contact for anyone in tribal systems to access justice and if she can make even a small difference in how cases are looked at and judgements are passed, it will go a long way in restoring people’s faith in legal processes. As the traditional courts are male dominated, women hardly ever speak up at these courts or share their point of view. Romita is working with women in her tribe to increase their participation in these community-level processes, attempting to ensure that women’s rights are at the centre of these mediation processes.	Priti Murmu Priti is a well known Santhali women lawyer, litigating for the rights of indigenous people, and specialises in Domestic Violence cases, tribal atrocities act, and more, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Read More Priti Murmu "The lack of awareness about rights and access to the justice system is one of the biggest obstacles of our legal system. Through my work, I hope to bridge the gap between rights and justice, while working towards ensuring proper implementation of the law and its various facets. For me, the real work is to enable better access to law and the judicial system.” Priti is one of the five tribal women lawyers at the District Bar Association in Jamshedpur, where there are at least 1600 registered members. Her family was always supportive of her education. Her father was the first practicing MBBS doctor belonging to a Scheduled Tribe in the district. Priti was inspired to become a lawyer, witnessing various struggles of her community. She began litigating in 2004 at Jamshedpur Civil Court. As the only woman lawyer then, who is from the tribal community, she began taking up criminal and civil cases for Adivasi women. She is known for litigating for the rights of indigenous people, especially on upholding their culture, as mandated by the Constitution of India. Priti specialises in Domestic Violence litigation and strongly believes that the Act needs stricter and prompt implementation, to enable greater access to justice for all women. In 2012, she was the first in her district to have filed a case under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. She faced a lot of challenges as the law was new, so even the magistrates and officers at the district level did not completely know or understand the nuances of the Act. The SAWF IN fellowship from 2015 supported Priti in pursuing cases in remote villages and she was able to support many litigants who were living in remote tribal villages and had no knowledge or understanding on how to approach a court for addressing their grievances. She was also able to organise awareness camps in the villages, with the support. Before her fellowship with SAWF IN she never took up rape cases, especially the defence side of it. Through the capacity building workshops, she says it gave her a better understanding of access to justice as a concept and that expanded her perspective tremendously. Priti believes that one needs to be a constant learner. thirst of knowledge is ever present within her and so even while she practices law, she continues to study and clear various examinations.	Y. Shaophen Phom Shaophen works in the area of tribal women’s welfare, taking up cases related to abuse and violence against women. Practicing at the district and session court, Kohima, Nagaland. Read More Y. Shaophen Phom Y. Shaophen Phom belongs to the Phom Naga Tribe which is a Schedule Tribe in the hill region of Nagaland. She identifies as a feminist lawyer, and is a firm believer in equality. It was Phom’s childhood dream to join the legal profession. After completing her Bachelor’s in Political Science Honors, she pursued an LLB degree from Guwahati University. When she started her work as a lawyer in Guwahati in 2017, she overcame many challenges in her path. Her primary obstacle was the language barrier. Since Shaophen is from Nagaland, practicing in Guwahati meant that she had to learn both Assamese and Hindi. Moreover, the legal profession being male dominated, a woman lawyer’s capabilities are often underestimated. Female lawyers are stereotypically expected to quit work after marriage and are discouraged from making court appearances. But facing these barriers has only encouraged Shaophen to work harder, be stronger and let her work speak for itself. Since the start of her career, Shaophen has been involved mostly in divorce cases, as well as civil and criminal procedures. She often takes up cases of domestic violence. Putting a stop to human rights violations by winning such cases has been a milestone in her career. She has also taken up cases seeking rehabilitation for abandoned or orphaned children. Currently, she practices at the Principal District and Session Court, Kohima, Nagaland. “The fellowship will give me the opportunity to work on cases for women in Nagaland, especially tribal women who in some areas are still living in the shadow of a man, where their voices are not being heard. This fellowship will enable many women to come out of their shell and voice their opinions." Domestic violence is least reported in Nagaland. Shaophen is keen to use the fellowship as an opportunity to break that barrier of silence and raise awareness among women to stand up for their rights. She also aims to support and encourage women to understand their legal rights so that they can have equal rights and equal opportunities, especially in receiving equal remuneration as their male counterparts for the same work and responsibilities. Through the fellowship she hopes to reduce the stigma around violence against women and encouraging stigma-free reporting of the incidences. Shaophen thinks women should be able to talk about their experiences without hesitation and shame. Most of all she hopes to see more female lawyers in the courtrooms of Nagaland.

PARVAAZ Legal Fellowship Programme