Rohini Pawar is a feminist, self-help group leader, onion farmer, juice stall owner, ASHA (health) worker, and a Community Correspondent. This woman of boundless passion and open-hearted courage dreamed of becoming a doctor, but her dreams were curtailed when she was married at 15. “I felt like all my dreams would crash and end there,” she says. “I was scared,…

Rohini Pawar

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February 5; Pune, Maharashtra

Heena Sheikh had been a victim of domestic violence ever since she got married. Undocumented instances of domestic violence are still quite common in India. The societal norms, which revolve around a patriarchal system, make it difficult for women to raise their voices. That’s what happened with Heena too. When she left her husband’s home — after filing a police complaint that led nowhere — people started looking down on her. Community Correspondent Rohini Pawar, figured it is important to change the perspectives of people. It needed to be a subtle change in ideas that have been wrongly internalised. So she screened the documentary I Am Nirbhaya, a film about the horrific and brutal rape in New Delhi, which highlights the troubles faced by women and how they should act for change. Heena, having faced more than two years of abuse at the hands of her own husband, was moved by it.

CC Rohini also informed the Superintendent of police about the issue and negligence of authorities. After sending a string of emails (the CC has learned to use e-mail services through the course) and following up with authorities, she was invited to file the complaint again. Later on, after the intervention of police, Heena received an assurance from her husband that she will not be troubled or harassed any further. She is now living with her husband as an equal.