RIGHTS-NEPAL:  LEGAL AID, JUST A PHONE CALL AWAY ...

OTC  2/26/99 8:15 PM  

KATHMANDU, (Feb. 26) IPS - Sarita Sapkota first heard the  advertisement in
Nepali on the radio. "Are you a victim of bigamy,  battery, or domestic
violence? Do you need legal advice or  counseling? Don't keep quiet. Speak
out. Call 543111 -- Women's  Rights Helpline. We're here to help you." 
   Sapkota, 25, picked up the phone. She wants to divorce her husband  of
four years. "He married again when I was seven months with  child," says
Sapkota. "My in-laws started mistreating me. Living  in the same house
became unbearable." 
   Back at her parents house, Sapkota hopes to get a job to support 
herself. "But I want my husband to return my dowry so I can ensure  support
for my child." 
   Seated in the two-room office of the Women's Rights Helpline Centre  in
Kathmandu, she waits patiently as the Centre's three staff  lawyers counsel
other clients. 
   On the phone, nearby, a Helpline counselor encourages a caller to  share
her problem. Since Jan. 1, when the ad was aired on local FM  stations, the
Centre's been flooded with calls. "The phone doesn't  stop ringing," says
Anita Chapagain, a Helpline staff lawyer.  "People call with numerous
queries. Most are related to domestic  violence, bigamy, and divorce." 
   A pilot project initiated by the independent Legal Aid Consultancy 
Centre, which has been providing legal services to women since  1986, the
Helpline seeks to ensure that women within the Kathmandu  Valley can easily
access legal aid and counseling programs --  simply by placing a call. 
   Women callers remain anonymous while receiving free preliminary  legal
advice from staff attorneys and phone counselors. Callers  may then make
use of the free mediation services and legal  representation by scheduling
a visit to the Helpline office. 
   Sapkota made a two-hour bus journey to the Center. "Many women  don't
have access to a phone. Others aren't comfortable. They call  from shops,
from the homes of friends or relatives. 
   They want to speak to attorneys in person," says human rights  lawyer
and Helpline consultant Patricia Rios. "The Centre grants  women in
especially difficult circumstances financial assistance  for all
court-related expenses." 
   The Centre also refers clients to supportive services provided by 
numerous women's organizations -- to emergency shelters, peer  counseling
groups, suicide prevention, family planning, and human  trafficking
prevention groups. 
   "The response has been amazing," says Dr Shanta Thapalia president  of
the Legal Aid Center. "In a patriarchal society where women  rarely speak
out due to social and religious constrictions, these  women are beginning
to question. It's about access, too. They know  where to call." 
   Since January, the Center's recorded more than 200 inquiries. All 
incoming calls and walk-ins are being registered in a specially  designed
dault geographic terrain, bad communication, and limited  access to phones
in rural areas. 
   Efforts, however, are being made. The Centre holds legal awareness 
programmes in schools and villages around the country. And plans  to train
women lawyers in the districts are underway.