We might say change is here. "ache din aagaye" according to PM. Congratulations on his win but has he won over all the demons present in INDIAN SOCIETY?
Sorry, my blog is not against BJP or Mr. Narendra Modi. I'm merely highlighting the issues which need their attention.
"DOWRY"
Although I belong to a middle class family but we can afford two maids. Each one of them has their own problems. For me, they are the source of information from the deadliest or one of the most poverty stricken environments. Every raise or low affects us, imagine they earn just 1/8th or even less than that in a month. One of the two maids has worked for our family for a really long time. Two of her kids got married while she worked for us. She is a Muslim. She has faced a lot worse shit than all of us can imagine. An alcoholic husband who used to beat her to death almost every night. But she had to raise her 4 children so she used to come to work daily. I still remember she was a peppy hard working lady. Best thing about her she's honest.
Her eldest daughter got married when she was 12.
My sister used to taunt her at times when she used to tell my mother about the preparations for the wedding and the "dowry" collection, etc. "She is way too young aunty, why are you getting her married?" my sister used to say every time Shabana used to discuss wedding things with my mother. Her reply would be, " I have no choice left, If I'll leave my Heena here with that good for nothing father, he'll beat her and what not". But Heena was too young for a big responsibility like Marriage. As she was a Muslim, consanguineous marriage is a part of their tradition. She got her married to her Uncle's son. ( Apne MAMA ka BETA).
They were farmers in Bihar. Shabana thought that its better that her daughter is going to be a part of a family well known to her instead of a stranger. As time came closer for the wedding she took more leaves than ever. Ofcourse, it was her daughter and she was all alone in the making of a WEDDING. Her husband didn't contribute anything other than his presence in the functions going on. After everything got over, Heena got married to the guy. All happily terminated to Shabana's satisfaction.
Days passed, months passed...
She hadn't heard from Heena since the wedding. She wondered whether things were fine or was her daughter in some sort of trouble. She called her in-laws but they made some or the other reasons "She's busy in the kitchen, has gone to run some errands, etc". After some time they got the news that Heena was pregnant. A 15 years old girl was pregnant with her first child. Everything seemed normal. Aliyah was born and today she is 2 years old.
Well after Aliyah was born, Shabana again disappeared. She stopped picking up our calls or anybody's call at all. But then she used to come back and disappear again and then again come back with some or the other story. We got worried. This time she all of a sudden stopped coming. After 20-25 days she came back this evening. Mom was angry at her because she had disappeared without any notice. But then she was there so my mother asked her "what happened?"
"What should I say, I made a huge mistake sending Heena to that place!"
"Why?"
Raja, her youngest and the most notorious son had gone to Bihar to see his elder sister and his niece. One night Shabana received a call from him around 2am.
"What happened ? Is everything alright?"
"Ammi, I have done something, I got into a fight here, I have beaten up Heena's husband and her Father-in- law."
"You lunatic why did you do that?"
"He was beating Heena half an hour ago."
Shabana kept down the phone. She didn't sleep that night at all. She packed her bags and took a train to Bihar the very next day.
When she reached there, she got to know that Heena's Father-in-law used to come home drunk every night and used to abuse her and ask for money, clothes, other luxuries, more DOWRY. When Heena used to respond, poor girl was beaten up to death as she dared to speak in front of him. She was beaten up with sticks for going out of the house, or talking to any of the neighbors or practically talking to anyone beside the house members. When Raja went there he knew something was wrong as Heena's health took a tragic turn. She had lost a lot of weight. He was sleeping out in the varandah, he heard someone crying. He woke up and went inside. He saw Heena was crying and her husband had put one hand on her mouth and he was beating her up with the other. Father-in-law was yelling all sorts of bad words and asking for Suits and cycle. Raja was infuriated with rage and enkindled with fire. He slapped her husband and pushed Heena aside. They both started fighting. Raja was pounding him very hard. Father-in-law came in between and they both started hitting raja with a thick bamboo stick. It didn't stop Raja neither his anger. Somehow finally fight ended.
The next morning, when she saw her Ammi, running towards the main door, tears came trickling down her eyes and she came out of the kitchen to see her. She hugged her and started sobbing in pain. After a while when her emotions settled down, Heena narrated the events that how she was beaten up for small issues everytime. Her husband didn't earn for his family, he earned it for his parents. She never got a single penny since the day she got married to him. "You need food to live and we are providing you with that, what else do you need money for?" he said. Her Father-in-law used to abuse her every night and sometimes physically abuse her too. Her husband never defended her, always took his parents' side and due to some or the other reason she was slapped. How they always demanded for money, clothes, jewelry from her but Heena kept quite and drank her tears so that her family won't have to face all that.
17 year old girl, still not an adult went through years of misery. Shabana decided to take her daughter away from that hell. After days of fighting with her in-laws and arguments they came back to Delhi. Generally, a girl that young is going through so many emotional variations and dreams for her future and carrier but given the circumstances Heena had turned into a woman, a mother and a maid for the in-laws. Tormented and torn from inside entered in house with peace and safety.
My mother advised Shabana to file a case against that family under the Dowry Prohibition Act and Domestic Violence.
Shabana still doesn't know what is about to happen next but I'm sure she'll provide her daughter and grand daughter with shelter, love and dignity.
So, in the end what did we learn? Dowry has been banned for so many decades but in small and ignored sections of the society it still persists. No wonder so many Heenas might be going through the same or even worse. Need of the hour to create awareness about it. Help such cases.
