Challenging cultural constraints: a personal testimony

Overview

DISHA is an Oxfam partner in Uttah Pradesh, India. It supports grassroots women’s organisations to take practical steps against cultural practices that oppress them. Below is the story of a Muslim housewife who accepts her position, but then starts working for DISHA and abandons her burkha. Despite opposition from village men, religious leaders and her husband’s family, the woman’s family and wider community now keep quiet or openly support her. Change is happening at community level now as well. Such women draw strength from DISHA, and the opposition they face only makes them more determined.

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