No one had heard her voice
On International Women’s Day, Kopila Basnet describes the struggle that Radha faced in the Nepali court system as her abusive marriage ended. It’s still a long, hard road for Nepali women: but their voices are growing stronger.
Since I have worked as a lawyer for abused women, I have had a dream that I could tell their story powerfully and make the court understand. But when I represented them I always felt that I was missing something, that I wasn’t doing the best for those women. Was I doing a good job as a lawyer? My colleague used to advise me that I just needed to be professional. I read more law books but still didn’t feel I had the right answers.
Kopila is a lawyer and Chair of Samunnat Nepal
She works from the Samunnat building to provide legal assistance to abused women. She has seen the building grow along with her caseload.
One day an opposition colleague pleading on the bench said, ‘Kopila Ji, don’t take the case as if you are the victim. You are just a lawyer pleading here for her.’ Then I felt, ‘OK, maybe he is right, I am taking it so personally. It’s not my problem, it’s hers.’ But one case changed my thoughts.
Radha (name changed) told me her divorce and property hearing was coming up soon. I kept reading her case again and again. I knew when she came to our office at Samunnat she looked so terrified, helpless. But when she started to appear in the court she seemed a bit more confident. On the day of pleading, her husband’s lawyer started to blame her and said she has no right to get property and the husband can just give her divorce. The lawyer didn’t even mention anything about the needs of their son, where he should live, how he could pay for education.
I don’t remember everything I said when it was my turn to plead but I felt that I had told the court all of the important things. The time had run out, so the verdict was due to be handed down the following day. Radha rang me that evening and told me that I had described her pain in a way that made her feel she was getting justice. She added that if somehow the verdict is against her she will still feel that she has won. When I heard this I knew that justice was not only about money and property. Radha had never felt before that people had listened to her properly, no one had heard her voice.
When the verdict was handed down, the judge awarded some money and a small piece of her husband’s land, along with granting the divorce. It was something, at least a start. Now, after more than a year of so much pain and hard times, Radha has to move on. She wanted fair justice but is left with a hard road ahead. Now, in our society women are raising their voices against domestic violence and crying out to be heard. Her pain is our pain. We have accepted this challenge.