From her home in the Indian city of Bhopal, Safia Akhtar listens in on her neighbors’ most intimate dramas.
As often as three times a week, women pass through her door to complain of deceitful husbands, evil in-laws, abandonment, and abuse. Akhtar, a grandmother, hears from both sides of each dispute before dispensing justice, according to the teachings of the Quran.
She is a female Sharia judge.
