Legal eagle with a kind eye

Tall and with determination in eyes, Li Yalan looks every bit the lawyer she is. So it's hard to accept that this expert in marital law was once a victim of domestic violence.

But the 46-year-old stresses that she was, and says: "If there's one thing I learnt from that journey, it is that only knowledge and independence could change a woman's life." Li grew up in a poor family with six siblings in a village in Heilongjiang province. She drifted from one job to another, from being a cleaner to a saleswoman and temporary teacher in Harbin, capital of the province.

Li was married to a school administrative employee, and gave birth to a daughter when she was 23. She was content to be a housewife despite the frequent fights and occasional beatings she got from her husband mainly because of "the difference in our incomes and social constraints".