Part of the struggle for 'access to justice' has been the struggle to find substitutes or additional processes for dispute-resolution and justice-dispersal, other than the formal state machinery. While these alternatives, broadly categorised as 'informal justice systems' exist and offer options for accessing justice, marginalised groups such as women face multiple challenges. Informal justice systems, whether customary or otherwise, do not usually conform to international or constitutional human rights standards; their priority for harmonious dispute resolution perpetuates power imbalances and asymmetries and the dominant discourse and norms in such informal justice systems lead to social coercion for minority groups. In order for women to have access to justice, informal justice systems need transformation and subversion through community engagement and women's participation, with the ultimate goal of 'mainstreaming' informal justice systems such that they can be reimagined and reconfigured to meet the goal of equitable access to justice.