Sikh Women’s Aid, a UK based support service and charity for victims of domestic violence within the Sikh community is marking 17 July as the first ever Sikh Women Remembrance Day, to pay a tribute to the victims who have lost their lives to domestic abuse.
Findings, as per ‘2022 Report – From Her, Kings are Born’ set to be published by Sikh Women’s Aid in November 2023, show that domestic abuse is indeed a big issue within the UK Sikh community. The report is based on a survey of 839 respondents. The survey finds that 62% of Sikh Punjabi women and girls who responded to the survey, reported they had experienced domestic abuse, 46% of these have had faced abuse from more than one perpetrator.
The charity today, on 17 July, held a vigil at Birmingham, to honour victims who have lost their lives due to domestic abuse related crimes.
Speaking to Asian Standard, Cllr Sahdaish Pall MBE, who is the CEO with Sikh Women’s aid said: “We wanted a day to remember all the women, our mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends, who have been the victims of domestic abuse and have lost their lives. It is something that is not really talked about, in our community. So, we wanted to raise awareness and at the same time remember all the victims those who have passed away.”
Speaking about the event held at Birmingham Cllr Sahdaish said: “It was a very moving and emotional event.”
17 July also marks the birthday of Surjit Kaur Athwal, a British Indian woman, who was killed in an honour killing in India in December 1998. Surjit’s mother-in-law and husband were prosecuted and found guilty of conspiring the killing.
Speaking about Surjit, Cllr Sahdaish said, “It was a landmark case. She was murdered in India; her body has never been found. Her mother-in-law and her husband were prosecuted for that murder. For years, her brother campaigned for justice.
“It was the first time the prosecution happened here, where the murder took place abroad.”
Speaking about the data on cases of domestic abuses, Cllr Sahdaish said, “We know domestic abuse is underreported, this is a global problem. It is a problem that happens across all communities.
“This is a problem which has been hidden. Many people do not talk about it, many people still do not accept the problem. It is very normalised.
One of the larger obstacles while dealing with domestic abuse is the role of ‘culture.’ Cllr Sahdaish says, “Sikh community is seen as one of the progressive communities, very hardworking, very educated. When you speak of culture, Sikhi is quite clear when it comes to the role of men and women, they have to be treated as equals. But there is another element, of culture which plays out. I think is important here, there is a lot of patriarchy, there is a lot of misogyny, from a cultural perspective.
“So, you can be well educated and very progressive, what matters is your attitude towards the value of women compared to men. Even today, children have been aborted before they are born, because they are a girl. So that attitude has to change.”
Domestic Abuse is a wider issue, prevalent among all communities and not just the Sikh community. Latest data as per the Office of National Statistics finds that in the year ending March 2022, one in five adults in UK have faced some kind of domestic abuse. This makes it to 2.4 million people of this 1.7 million were women.
In a message to those women in need, who think that they might need help, Cllr Sahdaish said: “My message to them is that there is so much help available out there. They can always contact us, even if they do not want to report, they can seek help. That is the first step, to come to terms with what is going on, they do not have to put up with what is happening, there is ample legislation. People can be prosecuted. They will still get help even if they do not want to prosecute. So, what we want is to help them out and help them live a life that is their choice.”
