AHMEDABAD: A quiet revolution is brewing up in the tribal belt. Women, who were exploited in the bride-for-a-price custom here, are now earning between Rs10,000 and 15,000 per month as lawyers. This job comes with the added satisfaction of helping vulnerable members of their own community who get fleeced at the hands of non-tribal lawyers. In the tribal villages of Surat district alone, there is a group of 30 young tribal lawyers of which 20 are practising women lawyers. Sonal Gamit, a tribal girl from Gadat village in Vyara, south Gujarat, had started taking odd-jobs of stitching blouses and chaniyas after graduating in arts.

A chance participation in a paralegal training course by the locally active Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (LAHRC) to acquaint tribals about the laws of the land got Sonal inspired and she enrolled for the LLB course. Today Sonal runs her own practice and earns Rs10,000-15,000 per month. “Non-tribal lawyers charge a hefty fee of Rs30,000 for a land dispute case and Rs5,000 for marital disputes. I charge half the fee and don’t fleece gullible people of my own community,” says Sonal.

Anita Vadhvi, a 28-year old from Haripur village in Uchchal taluka is another MA-LLB who practises law. “I dared to become a lawyer. One now knows how the non-tribal communities and lawyers took us for a ride,” says Anita. The lawyers admit that most cases they fight are basically about land or marital disputes.

“Recently, there was an altercation between tribals and Rajputs in Mangrol over the encroachment on tribal land. The matter reached court where I was shocked to discover that the other party conveniently said there was an out-of-court settlement. I consulted the tribal group and ensured that their case was represented correctly. The matter is on but the positive fallout is that the Rajputs have already removed the encroachment,” says Kirtan Salve, a woman lawyer from Velda in Vizar taluka.—By arrangement with The Times of India