Para Legal / Barefoot Counsellor.

• The PLCs do not have a formal legal background but they are accepted and recognized by the Quazi judges. This is evidenced by some Quazi’s allowing them to accompany the counselees to the Quazi Courts whereas the normal practice is not to allow anyone else to be present at the proceedings.
• Quazi’s refer cases to PLCs for special counselling and follow up of cases.
• While there is restriction for women to officially participate in the Quazi court process, one of the PLC had a seat next to the Quazi judge at the Quazi Court to mediate problems. Another PLC is part of the jury panel at the Quazi court. All this is yet to be institutionalized.
• PLCs regularly visit the Quazi courts to observe public sittings and meet the affected women in a separate place to support them and build their confidence to take up the case.

In order to bring a cohesive strategy linking the action- research to MWRAF’s activism, acting as a leverage, by designing the Para legal counselors [barefoot counselors] training module using a cascade approach, from basics to advance training and giving regular inputs to PLCs that they update their practical know- how to give strategic support to women who seek advice.

Over the years it has grown and expanded to cover not only cases in and around Colombo but also in other districts, reaching out to Muslim women in the interior towns and villages as well. Now the counselling service is decentralised with 14 Para Legal Counsellors (PLCs) working in 7 districts. MWRAF has handled more than 10,000 cases in various Quazi Courts, Board of Quazis, Court of Appeal, District Court, Magistrates Court, as well as the Supreme Court.

The PLCs/Barefoot counsellors acting as intermediaries, are the link between the community women and the justice system, supporting and ensuring the affected women get justice. In their extended role as PLCs, they act as the field facilitators for MWRAF taking up other social rights violations/ issues at the local level. They work closely with the Quazi judges, linking the affected women and Quazi judges, building rapport and promoting a favourable environment for women and men to work together.

• PLCs have also been accepted by the public and mosques authorities.
• Affected women communicate with other women who have similar problems and lend support/advise on best strategies.
• Community women are using the services and coming to the counsellors to bring their marital-domestic violence problems to the open. Earlier the family issues were a closed affair and an internal problem.
• At the family level, affected women are aware of issues concerning their lives and are able to negotiate their own spaces within the rigid family structure where the men hold the power, making decisions about women’s choices to move freely, attend meetings and also live independently.
• Community men are able to see the injustices of the system and are even suggesting that the system should be reformed or even to do away with the special ethnic-religious based family court so that women and men can recourse to the general system of laws.

• Motivating community women, mentoring over a long time and mobilization/empowering ie,- capacity building on problem identifying, understanding, analyzing and taking appropriate actions.
• Practical skills and knowledge applying the learnings at the field level, discussing with community women how to address local issues.
• Facilitate networking with organizations, institutions and liaise with concerned women and men. Building and encouraging new leadership among women at the community level.
• Parallel inputs – Designing and disseminating mobilization tools/ booklets in local languages.

Although there is no provision in the MMDA for Matah in 2012 for the first time that Matah [on revision application] was given to woman in a case successfully handled by MWRAF. The BOQ gave the judgment that Quazis have jurisdiction on awarding Matah. However way back in 2005, as part of the MWRAF PLC training, a CBO in Puttalam took forward the issue on Matah payment with the Quazi and successfully won. It was the first time a Quazi ordered Matah. In 2014 in Kalmunai, 9 divorced women managed to get good sums as Matah.

Note – One of MWRAF recommendations to the MPL reforms Committee is to give legal sanction to provide Matah for both Talaq and Fasah [divorce initiated by wife].

A 21 year old woman claimed maintenance for her ‘legitimate ‘child born to the putative father aged 65. In 2014 the judgement of the Court of Appeal was in favor of our case that the law is clear that maintenance can be claimed in respect of an ‘illegmitiate ‘ child in section of 47{1}(cc)of MMDA.

MWRAF took a keen interest as majority of the members of the BOQ allow putative fathers to go scot free shirking their responsibility towards these children, thrusting the burden on the mothers, so we appealed to the Court of Appeal and won.