Violence against women and one that is perpetuated by the natal family begins even before her birth, said the founder of a feminist organisation.

From being sex-selective about abortions to failing to raise a girl in a way that allows her to live life on her own terms, the natal family has long been responsible for various forms of abuse against women, she said.

“When we talk about domestic violence, we usually refer to violence within the marital family, but violence against a woman often begins in her parental family, even before she is born. It starts with sex-selective abortions, and even when she is born, she may be discarded or denied adequate food and nutrition. From the very beginning, girls are discriminated against and not brought up to live life on their own terms,” said Anuradha Kapoor, founder, Swayam.

A public awareness programme — Resistance Through Art: Violence against Natal Family Violence and Effective Implementation of PWDVA 2025 (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act) — was hosted by Aman West Bengal Network, part of Aman Global Violence for Peace in the Home, on Saturday at Jadavpur 8B bus stand.

The programme on Saturday gave women an opportunity to express their resentment through art and poetry.

Women, some survivors of domestic violence and some passers-by, used a piece of cloth and colours to express their resentment through words and paint.

“A first-year girl used the colour red to express her resentment of violence. When I asked her why she chose the colour red, she responded by saying, ‘Red is visible’. Often, natal family violence is invisibilised and not spoken about,” said Soumi Jana, secretary, Aman, Bengal chapter.

Jana said they wanted to give space for expression and not just restrict it to a programme where people would come, listen to speeches and leave.

Natal family violence can be insidious, and it can damage the confidence of women by “belittling” their sense of identity and cause mental and emotional stress, speakers discussed on Saturday.

“It happens with her appearance and her dark complexion and how these things are seen as impediments to her being married,” said Jana.

Child marriage, forced marriage and preventing a woman from marrying a partner of her own choice are all forms of violence and abuse inflicted on her by the natal family.

Kapoor said the woman is subjected to “economic abuse.”

Either she was brought up without education, or even if she is educated, she is not brought up to be able to “stand on her feet.”

“After she is married and has trouble at the marital home, her natal family is not available to her, which is also abuse. Now the woman has to put up with that abuse. Or if she wants to get out of that abusive home, she is told by her natal family to fend for herself. But nobody prepared or brought her up in way or created the circumstances to fend for herself,” said Kapoor.

The work has to be done at the foundational level, which is at the natal family, she said.

“It is important to call it out as violence because it must be addressed within the natal family; addressing it only in the marital family is not enough,” said Kapoor.