Nowhere to Go, by Durga Khaitan, Kolkata

Born in Rajasthan and raised in West Bengal, Durga is a judge who feels that, among millions of worst sufferers and stronger survivors, she does not need further description. 

One Sunday morning in the spring of 2020, a young woman came to see me. I remembered spotting her a few days earlier, driving past me in a red car with a 'Baby On Board' sticker on the window. Today, holding her little son by her side, she looked shattered. Her eyes made no attempt to hide the tears.

She told me, "I live nearby. My husband is very violent, he beats me every night. We’ve been married for four years. He says I cannot satisfy him and is threatening to make me leave the house.”

She said that he refused to let her take their son with her.

“I came out of our house with the excuse of bringing my son to the community Durga Puja Pandal one last time, before I leave. Please help me.”

I could see marks of violence on her face and neck. I offered to call the local police station, but she was terrified and refused.

"I’m the only daughter of my parents, they are very rich. I was loved by all of my family and married an educated man. But I was unable to face his inhumane torture and was forced to return to my parents’ place,” she said.

Apparently her relatives and some well-meaning community members had interpreted her turmoil as “the overreaction of a newly married girl,” and sent her back to her husband. Soon, they had a son. Her husband was on his best behavior, in society. Her mother and other family members even commented that he never raised his voice.

She told me, “I’ve survived hell over the last four years, but things have gotten even worse during the lock-down. I can't go back to my parents, as my father has died, and my brothers are all married. No one wants me.”

I learned that she has an MBA degree, but because her husband didn’t want her to work, she has never held a job and had no money of her own. She did not even get a share of her paternal property. All of her jewelry was in a bank box jointly held with her husband.

“I have no idea what to do now,” she finished.

She had come to me to ask about her legal options, and after a long conversation, she said that she would go back home and try to persuade her husband to allow her to stay until after Diwali. She would get the jewelry out of the bank, for the festival, and then leave with it. Then, she would sell the jewelry, buy a car, and drive it as an app cab, to earn her living while looking for a better job.

After I gave her all the required emergency phone numbers, I asked, “How did you know about me, that I work in the legal field as a judge?”

She answered, “I’ve known of you since the day I returned from my honeymoon in a wheelchair.”

I felt confused, but I just hugged her, and she left.

Then, it came to me, the day she had spoken of. It was back in December of 2017. Her father had visited my office to seek legal guidance for her. He told me that she had been overseas with her husband, who had subjected her to repeated bouts of extreme violence. Injured and in terrible pain, she left the airport in a wheelchair and was taken straight to the hospital.

I could not help wondering how different her life might be, if her father had acted on the advice I gave him.

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(This story was prepared for an “Imagine Another World” online storytelling workshop held December 19, 2020.)

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