According to Trupti Shah of Sahiyar, the campaign against atrocities on women rests on a wider social perspective of women in a patriarchal society than merely dealing with their individual uncertainties. ``While we do extend emotional and moral support to individual cases of atrocities reaching us, our approach is to have a holistic view of the prevailing situation of women,'' she says, stressing that Sahiyar aimed an remaining a movement than become an institution.

Sahiyar, along with other voluntary organisations, was among the forerunners in the campaign against female foeticide, demanding the enactment of a law to check the practice. ``From 1987 to '92, our efforts involved exposing clinics that were performing sex-determination tests. Now, when the law has come into existence, things have gone undercover. But the crimes haven't ceased, both in urban as well as rural areas,'' Shah claims.

Judging from the experience, a conclusion was drawn that banning female foeticide was not the only solution. ``Our attitude as a society has to change. There is a pressing need to look at how differently a girl and boy child are looked at in the average Indian household, whether in the cities or in the villages,'' she adds.

Sahiyar also runs a unique programme for girls aged 13 to 20 years called `Balpan Gayu Ane Kishoravastha Avi' at its Yuvati Vikas Kendra. ``Adolescence is the period of emotional and physical transition that arouses many queries at the same time also sets the benchmark for an individual's social behaviour. Hence, it becomes vital to minimise the conflicts faced by these girls to help them grow into stronger individuals,'' Shah says.

The programme entails holding group discussions as well as one-to-one sessions with adolescent girls, helping them find solutions to their problems by offering options as well as interacting with parents and teachers if need be.

Sahiyar does not concede to the view of limiting women's problem to atrocities such as rape or dowry deaths. ``We are simultaneously networking with other non-governmental organisations on several other issues for we believe that all issues have to be looked at from the women's point of view as well be it property rights, human rights, casteism, environment or communalism,'' says Shah.

Acknowledging an increase in cases of mental trauma among the urban married women, Shah says,``While a woman's expectation from society has multiplied from what it used to be a decade ago, little feedback or support has come to her from both her family and the society. This has exerted a tremendous pressure on today's woman''.