Via Humans of Bombay

When I was just 15 years old, my aunt brought me to Bombay under the pretext of finding me a job, but instead she made me meet a boy and his family for an arranged marriage and within 3 days – I was married off to him! A few months into the marriage, I found out he was already married to another woman, who was currently staying at her mothers house; but I was already pregnant by then and delivered my daughter at the age of 16.

For 3 years after that my mother in law would insist I work in the scorching sun on their piece of farmland in Baramati, and when I used to resist I would get beaten up and instead of protecting me, my husband used to join in and hit me as well. This continued till the age of 19 when I delivered my baby boy – but one day he came home and threatened to hit my children as well. That day, I walked out of the house and never looked back. I left both my children with my mother in Roha and came back to Bombay to work and earn money for them. I earn from working in different houses in Bombay and send almost all the money back to my mother, for my children. I’m finally getting a legal separation as well, and I’ve never felt more free and independent. I’ll work all my life to feed my children, but I’ll never go back to him again.