India has robust laws against dowry violence and domestic abuse, yet the lived reality remains dismal. In 1987, two mothers, Satyarani Chadha and Shahjehan Begum, endured the unimaginable loss of their daughters due to dowry cruelty. One stood vigil outside the Supreme Court holding her daughter’s photograph. The other opened her modest Delhi home to women cast aside by family and society. From their grief emerged Shakti Shalini, a space built not on pity but on principle.

Official data reveals the scope of the crisis:

• 6,450 dowry deaths were recorded in India in 2022 (National Crime Records Bureau)
• 6,589 dowry deaths occurred in 2021 (NCRB)
• That equates to nearly 18 dowry-related murders every day in 2021
• 29.3 percent of married women aged 18 to 49 have experienced spousal violence at least once (NFHS-5, 2019–21)
• Only about 14 percent of survivors ever seek help (NFHS-5, 2019–21)

Against this backdrop, Shakti Shalini’s mission is urgent. Established as Delhi’s first non‑state shelter home for survivors, it pioneered holistic feminist care: legal aid, trauma counselling, vocational training, and youth-led outreach across five marginalised urban communities.

Over nearly four decades, more than 15,000 survivors have found refuge, support, dignity and opportunity within its walls. This institution does not cast survivors as statistics. It treats them as reclaimers of agency and authors of their futures. Its presence in communities overruled by silence and societal pressure is a testament to what care looks like when it refuses to disappear.

In a country where patriarchy abides and repression persists, Shakti Shalini listens. It turns grief into a framework for justice. When laws weaken and culture shuts women out, who stands to welcome them back with dignity?