Twenty three-year-old Nazeer of Badrapalli village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, says, “My neighbour used to abuse his wife everyday. He hurled unmentionable verbal abuses and beat her mercilessly. I urged my neighbours to intervene after the campaign sensitised me to the fact that domestic violence is not a private issue but everyone’s business. We spoke to the wife and told her to find a way to be economically independent of him. She set up a stall and began selling dosas. This has given her a new identity and a way to free her dependence on him. Now she stands up to him and in a strange twist of fate even beats him in return when he tries to assault her.

I intervened in the affairs of another such family. The couple has two sons and a daughter. They neglect the girl, keep her at home and make her do all the household work. I threatened to complain to the authorities about their not sending the girl to school. This alarmed them and they have started sending the girl to school. I do not want them to send her to school out of fear but for now it is good enough. It gives me the time to reason with them and make them understand why it is necessary to send her to school. I personally know of eight girls who have similarly dropped out of schools. The parents say they cannot afford school fees that cost between Rs 100 and Rs 120. The battle is going to be a long one.”