The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar has run courses to educate women about how human rights can help them with scourges like domestic violence, being denied their inheritance or having their children taken away after a relationship break up.
In collaboration with the United Nations (UN), the church taught women across the country from 2006 to 2007 about their rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
This convention, signed by Madagascar in 1980, includes the provision that countries should enact legislation to promote the principle of equality of women and men and also prohibit discrimination against women because of their gender. The church used brochures that had pictures, so that the convention was understandable for women who cannot read.
Head of the church women's desk Rev Veromalala Andriamose says: "After this we had a lot of women who came to our centre, or to the head of their village to talk about their problems.
"Most of their problems were to do with domestic violence. Before they didn't know they had to go and put their complaint to the police. When they know their rights they look to the police or a lawyer to ask what they should do."