Giving new life to Indian women traumatised abroad (FEATURE) By Papri Sri Raman, Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai, Feb 20 (IANS) Seetha, a gold medallist scholar, was just 22 when she was married off to a non-resident Indian (NRI). But then began a virtual house arrest in the U.S. for several years during which she was kept isolated and incommunicado by her husband. It only ended when she dared to break free and return to Chennai. It is women like her who have been battered by domestic violence - much of which is emotional trauma - that Chennai-based Prasanna Poornachandra and Hema R. assist. The National Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care, set up in 2002 by the two experts in criminology, is run entirely on donations. The organisation coordinates with U.S.-based NGOs Apna Ghar Inc, an outreach agency for battered women in Chicago, and Narika, for Asian women in distress in Berkeley, California, to help women who get married to Indians in the U.S. but are subjected to mental and physical torture and unable to cope. Take the case of Geetha, who was married to an outstanding scientist at a prestigious American medical school. The woman was taken to Dubai where her in-laws lived and left with them. Her husband forgot about her after that. She is now back with her parents here, filing for a divorce after vain attempts to get to her husband in the U.S. Such are the haunting stories the two experts relate. "For lower income group women, family and societal support come forth," says Poornachandra. "But, for educated women, it is really difficult because the fear of what family and society will say stops them for complaining," she adds. Poornachandra explains how Seetha, for instance, was victimised. When she was taken to the U.S., the newly married girl was told she could not go out of the house because "the U.S. is not safe like India". Then her husband, a software engineer, said she could not learn to drive even though other Indian women in her neighbourhood all drove to the market. "Her husband watched over even when she bought vegetables. He did not let her talk to anyone. She was computer savvy but he did not like her to be on the Net." He installed software on the home machine to spy on her online communication with family and friends in India. Before they were married, he said he would help her find a job. Afterwards he told her she needed to upgrade her skills to be able to find work in the U.S. Finally he stopped talking to her for weeks on end if he caught her on the Net, talking to her family and friends in India. This caused great terror for Seetha. She was then helped by a relative in the U.S. to escape from her marital home and reach an American NGO for Asian women and return to India. The Chennai-based NGO coordinates the rehabilitation and return of Indian women emotionally traumatised in the U.S. The rehabilitation process includes free legal advice and aid, medical help and psychological and psychiatric counselling. Relocation of victims in terms of jobs, educational opportunities and housing are also made available based on individual needs and resources. The NGO has a 24-hour crisis intervention and referral centre here. It also supports a domestic violence transitional housing programme in the city, a secret shelter. Victims are provided outreach teams to accompany them to police, hospitals, courtrooms or residences or offices. Emphasis is placed on the most practical solution in each case, especially if the victims have children. Women in battered relationships are steered through depression, suicide, loneliness, sexual assault and grief. --Indo-Asian News Service _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://goacom.com/mailman/listinfo/goanet
