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Informal Dispute Mediation
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Although she wanted to remain married, divorce was recommended for Baby Akther and her husband by a shalish, Bangladesh's long-standing tradition of informal dispute mediation at the village level. She then received legal assistance from a Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA) legal aid advisor in the Madaripur District Court (right), ensuring that her legal claims were honored through the court system.
Fazlul Huq (below) founded the MLAA in 1978 to provide effective justice by reforming the shalish. The reforms include making the shalish participatory and open to all community members, including women and the poor.
Read more about the revival of shalish.
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Fazlul Huq (at right, and above right, chairing a mediation session at the Legal Aid Outreach Office in Madaripur) grew up in Madaripur in southern Bangladesh, where he earned a law degree and experienced Bangladesh's struggle for independence and its aftermath. He began spending much of his time serving poor clients, especially the most vulnerable – women and the Hindu minority – on a pro bono (free) basis. After handling 2,000 such cases, he made the transition from local practitioner to leader of a national movement to enable the poor and weak to realize and exercise their rights.
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© 2001 Changemakers
Photographs by Shehzad Noorani/Developing Images
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