today, we meet three young indonesian women who are crazy about heavy metal. we check out a kenyan movie about the power of the imagination. and we learn about the brutal domestic violence that's still far too common in india. what's the most dangerous place for women? you're probably thinking a public park at night, or a dark alleyway. but it's not. it's the home. worldwide, one woman in three has been the victim of sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner. according to recent research by the world bank, more than a billion women worldwide have no legal protection in situations

involving domestic violence. 144 countries now have laws on sexual harassment, but they're rarely implemented when it comes to violence within a partnership. in 37 countries, forced sex within a marriage doesn't even count as rape. in india, sex with a minor is now a punishable offence, even within marriage. women over 18 though are still very much at the mercy of their husbands. reporter: this woman can't go to the courts and her family doesn't understand her problem. that's why she's come to this women's support center. priya is in her early 20's. the mother of two was forced into an arranged marriage six years ago. since then, she's been tormented and abused by her own husband. priya: he'd wake me up in the middle of the night and pressure me for sex, even when i was ill. when i tried to stop him, he hit

me. sometimes i wouldn't be able to sit down for days, or move without pain. reporter: unlike priya, 60-year-old suresh has no qualms about showing her face on camera. her suffering started 20 years ago. now she wants to go public with her story, even if her relatives condemn her and say she's tarnishing the family's honor. suresh is now divorced. her ex-husband cheated on her with his own daughter-in-law. suresh: nevertheless, he still wanted to have sex with me, even though i refused him. he got drunk, hit me, raped me. repeatedly. i ran away. reporter: chaitali is a women's rights activist from delhi who supports victims of abuse. she can find women new jobs or a new place to live, but she can't give them justice.

husbands who force their wives to have sex with them are, technically, not breaking the law in india. chaitali: the basis for this is the patriarchal tradition here. a woman is viewed as the property of her father. after she's married, she becomes the property of her husband. issues, on women's aspirations and fears. the film was initially banned in india by the censorship authorities. its director says it hit a little too close to home. alankrita: i do feel that there's a high level of abuse within marriages. within relationships also, but definitely within marriage. and it becomes difficult because you are always told to work it out.

reporter: in the future, there could be another option, the legal one. india's supreme court decided to hold a hearing on the issue. not long ago, it banned child marriages. is the next step to finally criminalize marital rape? even at this respected and progressive women's university in delhi, opinion is divided. many here say they would welcome a new law. others argue it could be misused. >> there have been many cases registered where women have utilized the right of these dowries and all in a negative way, and misused them. >> physical intimidation is something which is very possible to a couple, but again, it's a rape, so we cannot neglect it. and of course, our consent, whether we want to get touched or not, is highly important. reporter: on the day of the hearing, chaitali and a other women's rights activists came to the court. then, unwelcome news. the hearing was postponed to a

later date. but chaitali says that's not necessarily a bad sign. chaitali: we have to be patient. society is not going to change so quickly. above all, what has to stop is the belief that women are essentially men's property. that won't happen overnight, even with a new law. reporter: but it would be a step in the right direction. even if the supreme court takes its time with the ruling, victims and activists campaigning for change are confident it will ultimately make the right decision in women's favor. host: this week in global ideas, we're in south africa, where we meet women striving for climate justice. once upon a time, johannesburg was the city of gold. for decades, hundreds of companies mined the precious metal there. today, all that's left of the

mines are hundreds of imposing slag heaps, many of them right next door to residential areas. our reporter stefan mohl went to soweto to meet a dedicated environmental activist. stefan: this barren wasteland is one of the mine dumps found in and around south africa's biggest city, johannesburg. the soil here is full of toxins like arsenic, lead, and radioactive uranium. the heavy rains and dust storms that have become more frequent in recent years have spread the contamination, especially around soweto and its neighboring townships. that led ndivile mokoena to become an environmental activist, educating people about the health hazards posed by the mine dumps. she's invited us to her family home in soweto, where her older sister and two nephews live. ndivile knows that here, environmental issues like climate change are also social

issues. ndivile: climate change largely is viewed as an environmental issue. however, it encompasses everything. it's a developmental issue, it's a human rights issue, it's a social issue. you find that when you look at the impacts of climate change and how one can adapt, the most vulnerable are the women and children. stefan: ndivile grew up under the racist apartheid regime. back then, mining debris was dumped directly next to the townships where black people lived, at a safe distance from affluent white suburbs. as a young girl, she saw how much more vulnerable the poor and disadvantaged were to environmental problems. women suffered doubly. not only were they exposed to the hazards, in a deeply entrenched patriarchal society,

women have fewer choices and fewer means to protect themselves. that men could dictate a woman's fate was a notion ndivile grew up with. ndivile: traditionally, you know, when a man gets married they are looking to get a boy as a first born. but when i came out and they find out that it is a girl, then my father said, i have had enough of girls. that is the meaning of my name , ndivile. it means, i have had enough. stefan: ndivile was the third of four daughters. her father was a proud man, who took good care of his family. yet he was also a deeply traditional man, who saw no value in educating girls. ndivile: my father told my mom that he is not going to take girls to university because he feels he is wasting his money.

because we will go to school, then start working, but we will be working for another family because we'll get married and work for someone else or another family. so he would rather invest in boys rather than in girls. so that thing, you know, i think it sort of inspired me to look into these gender issues. stefan: ndivile did study anyway, earning the money she needed as a bank teller and later as a marketer at a big national newspaper. she got more and more involved in community work. eventually she quit her job, and organized environmental clean-up campaigns in soweto. today, ndivile is the south africa coordinator for the gender into urban climate change initiative. the global network evaluates and monitors the gender components of climate protection strategies in cities around the world. at a project workshop in

johannesburg, the coordinators share the experiences and challenges faced by women in their countries. in india, for instance, many poor families can't afford the security of a basic life insurance. rekha: mumbai is a coastal area, okay. so fishing is a big industry there. so whenever the men go out to sea and whenever there are storms and they don't return back, the women have either to relocate or to look out for a different business and to care for the family themselves. so the burden on them is increased ten times more. stefan: in south africa, the initiative works together with two cities. tshwane and johannesburg. ndivile is especially interested in introducing climate-smart urban agriculture. in johannesburg's joubert park, an abandoned greenhouse has now become a community garden. the cooperative grows vegetables and medicinal herbs. currently the project provides work for two formerly jobless women.

ndivile: so these are the young two ladies. they own a farm in their area where they stay. and then they come here as volunteers to the greenhouse to take care of the space. stefan: with a changing climate, agricultural practices have to change, too. the project teaches women farmers how to adapt sustainably in order to ensure income and food security in the future. mamosweu: so here in greenhouse, as we are doing organic vegetables, it helps us to sustain ourselves. because we sell our organic vegetables to the local market so we are able to have something every week. stefan: making themselves heard by policymakers remains a big challenge. the city government had agreed to renovate the greenhouse, but cut the funding at the last minute.

ndivile: it's still a long way to go, but we will keep on raising our voice and keep on commenting and critiquing their policies and make recommendations. identify gaps where there are gaps. stefan: it's work that takes strength and perseverance. and ndivile mokoena has plenty of both. host: war, disease, corruption and starvation. those are some of the images that come to mind when people think of africa. but there's an effective antidote to such stereotypes -- movies made in africa by africans. nigeria leads the way when it comes to film production. last year alone, more than 1500 movies were made in nollywood, most of them produced by small companies on dvd, using cheap equipment and amateur actors. cinemas are pretty rare in africa, on average, there's just one for every million people.

and until now, there's been little funding for big budget films. but that's about to change. the african union has ambitions. it wants to boost the continent's film industry profits to $20 billion and create 20 million jobs at the same time. a new kenyan film was shown at this year's berlinale film festival. reporter: meet an up-and-coming movie star. stycie: i had to do a lot of things to prepare for this film. it was very fun. premiered at the berlin film festival. it's the story of jo, who loves action films and dreams of being a superhero. she is terminally ill, and has come home from the hospital to die. her sister tries to keep her spirits up.

the whole village plays along. they all stop in their tracks. jo's mission is to catch a thief. mugambi: in the end, the fantasy is not the point. it's the fact that she found heroism inside of her and inspired the whole village to do something. everyone has a hero living inside of them, who they just need to discover. reporter: the message may be

universal, but the story is set in a village in kenya. the film was shot near nairobi and the dialogue is in swahili. there is plenty of local color and specific cultural references. films from africa rarely find large audiences outside the continent. mykel: you know that african cinema has its unique style, very different from what the west would do. and from the environment, to the language, culture, to the lifestyle of the people, to the dress culture, and into every spices we put to make our films. and so that's what we're trying to show to the world. reporter: african filmmakers come to international film festivals to present their work and make contacts, like here at the berlinale.

at the same time, many of them don't want to replicate conventional western filmmaking, but create alternative visions. elias: i would love to see more african films made by africans. i think the vast majority of african films that go into the mainstream circuit are actually made by europeans, written by europeans. they usually have a white savior somewhere in them. and we've made it our mission to try and change that. reporter: the villagers make jo's last wish come true -- to make a film and star in it before she dies. the film industry is in its infancy in many african countries. for some years now, filmmakers in africa have received support from the german economic co-operation and development ministry and the dw academy. it offers workshops for directors, screenwriters, camera operators, and producers. more than 1000 people from 18

barbara: it contributes so strongly to raising the general skill set level of kenyan film makers, because what it does is it gives us an opportunity to work on a much bigger production than we would ordinary be able to. because we have a bigger crew, a bigger budget, a bigger story, a longer story, and that in itself trains us to be able to handle bigger projects. reporter: the german-kenyan film was co-produced by the company founded by german director tom tykwer to promote african filmmaking. tykwer says the spread of mobile internet and streaming services will eventually offer great new opportunities. tom: we need to really support that the market inside the continent gets a better structure. people are actually ready to pay for watching a great film, especially if it's their own, if it's not that much money.

and there are so many people. imagine, even if it's just 10 cents that you pay, but you have got 10% of east africa paying 10 cents to watch a movie, it's insanely economically useful. further afield. stycie: is that even a question? of course i want to go to hollywood. everyone wants to go to hollywood. host: we've seen them on athletes, on barbie dolls, and on the pages of muslim fashion bloggers. and now we have the hijab-wearing heavy metal band. reporter: this is not your typical heavy metal band.

these young musicians in hijabs call themselves vob, short for voice of baceprot, or just noisy voice. they're recording their first album in jakarta. this song is called "school revolution" and it means a lot to lead singer firdda kurnia. firdda: when i record this song i sing it with all i've got. the lyrics are about how i got picked on at school, because i'm different, and not afraid to speak my mind. many people think i'm weird, an outsider. in this song i let those feelings out. reporter: the band members are 16 and 17 years old. in indonesia, many young women this age are already married. but these three have a different agenda -- making music. widi: i used to be really shy. well, i still am. but i'm a lot more confident now. i can play bass guitar and there aren't many people my age who can do that.

reporter: firdda, siti and widi are excited. they're about to get on a plane for the first time. they're going with their assistant and manager to a music festival in bali. firdda: very happy. bali is a beautiful place, i think. and that will be a great experience for us. reporter: their rise to fame is like something from a hollywood film. the young musicians set up their band at school in a rural town three years ago. now they're making tv appearances, recording an album, even jetting to a gig in bali for three days. it's a heady new world for three youngsters from humble backgrounds. it's scary, and exciting. firdda: very excited. reporter: at first their parents

wouldn't allow them to make music. conservative muslim parents aren't exactly thrilled when their daughters start getting into heavy metal. but the three friends didn't give up. siti: my parents are still worried. but by now they realize that we're successful. that's why they allowed me to come on this trip, although they did tell me to be careful. widi: my parents said be good and don't forget to pray. reporter: right after landing in bali, it's off to a sound check. the three teenagers say they need to let off steam just like all their counterparts. music is their way of showing they're different and rebelling. firdda: we found our soul in heavy metal music. i'm falling in love with heavy metal music. widi: i am falling in love with

funky music. and funky is my gender. reporter: at first they covered songs written by other bands, but now they compose their own music. firdda: with our songs we fight the broken school system, discrimination, and inequality. our generation cares about these subjects. many of our friends escape through casual sex and drugs. we have music. reporter: on stage, these three somewhat shy teenagers transform into rock and roll professionals. ♪

the group want to be role models for other young women and girls. they say islam and heavy metal can go hand-in-hand. firdda, widi and siti have some time for sightseeing today. they say religion is part of their identity, but it's private. heavy metal is how they express their thoughts and their feelings. firdda: at first people said we were just trying to get attention. we got a lot of abuse on social media and in real life. they claimed that we were just wearing our hijabs on stage, but not the rest of the time, that we were just trying to provoke. reporter: this hostility isn't surprising in a country where

conservative attitudes are growing increasingly common amongst its mostly muslim population. some provinces in the country now follow strict sharia law. but these three aren't frightened. firdda: those people don't represent islam. they don't understand the religion. islam is not that angry. but those people are so loud that people around the world might think all muslims are like that. but that's not true. look at us. reporter: the young women are making a clear statement -- they won't be intimidated. they have energy, and they have dreams. and what might those dreams be? all: america. firdda: because most of our favorite bands come from america.

reporter: the three show that hijabs and heavy metal are a powerful combination. and for firdda, widi and siti, this is only the beginning. host: have you enjoyed our reports today? would you like to find out more? check out our facebook page. it's packed with moving and inspiring stories, including many from international women's day on march 8. this week. but we love hearing from you, so write to us. by email to global3000@dw.com, or on facebook. see you soon. bye for now. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [inaudible] [laughter]

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