After he burned me, I couldn’t stand for long. After around 2 years of struggling, I found work at a hotel, but my husband found me again. So I stopped working there. Now I survive by working in people’s houses, doing jobs like sifting rice flour. I have to leave the three children with my mother when I do this.

Before my husband left, I was too nervous to even go to the hospital alone. Now, I have to do this on my own.

I went to the quazi court for aid and after five years have still not received adequate redress. I don’t even know where my husband is. I don’t know how he can remarry when we are not divorced.

I get Rs. 4000 a month working for an NGO. I will probably keep doing this work so I can feed my children and fund their schooling.

A representative from the Women’s Action Network – Mullaitivu explained that many of the Muslim residents followed the law laid out under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), and faced difficulties due to bureaucratic delays. Currently, there is no permanent representative from the Quazi court to act as an arbitrator in divorce cases. A single acting representative travelled to Mullaitivu once a week, but a heavy backlog of cases ensured women often had to wait months before their cases were even heard.