NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Imagine travelling thousands of miles away from home to marry a man in a country where the language and culture are foreign, only to find out that your husband, supported by your in-laws, is a wife-beater. Isolated and terrified, many of these Asian women from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are battered, beaten and burned at the hands of those who should be offering love and nourishment. An organization called Sakhi, “female friend,” has been in operation in New York City for over 10 years. A phone call away, this support group offers language assistance and legal advice in court cases, finds women places to live and teaches them about their rights in America. Sakhi volunteers, who are of Asian origin themselves, work with the abused women until they have established themselves. A database is now in place at Sakhi to log in the 15-30 new calls for help each month. Dr. Margaret Abraham, a Ph.D. from Syracuse and head of the sociology department at Hofstra University, has published her book, “Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence Among South Asian Immigrants in the United States.” Doctor Abraham believes that the Asian community needs to be aware of and take action to rectify its social problems. By attending Hindu temple committee meetings with its campaign, Sakhi is trying a new approach to make the community accountable for the domestic violence.
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