Indian women face serious obstacles to protecting their rights. Gender inequalities limit their social status, decision-making autonomy, security within marriage and community, and ownership of property. Despite existing laws, women – especially poor women from disadvantaged communities – find it difficult to access formal and informal mechanisms for obtaining legal redress and conflict resolution.

USAID’s Gender and the Law program helps Indian women increase their access to justice. Working with state officials and local non-government organizations, the program:

• Educates women about Indian laws and increases their access to paralegals and lawyers;
• Works to combat skewed gender ratios by increasing the dignity of the girl child;
• Disseminates information on Muslim women’s rights to Muslim women and religious leaders;
• Establishes counseling centers for women that offer mediation, legal advice and referrals to experts;
• Improves the knowledge, skills and gender-sensitivity of medical and legal sector personnel;
• Conducts research on key legal and social issues and disseminates findings;
• Attempts to change attitudes and behaviors regarding violence against women;
• Creates local, alternative channels of dispute resolution that are more sensitive to the needs of women and their families; and
• Provides technical advice to groups working for legal, policy and institutional reforms to protect women, such as the country’s recently passed domestic violence law.