Characterization of Indian Women

A 4 year old girl asks her mother “How does papa look?”

Sakshi is a 32 year old woman who can’t answer her daughter’s question, without hiding the
tears that roll down her cheek. Sakshi was married once. She lived in a house with her in-laws.
She did every job which she was expected to. But now she lives with her parents. What went
wrong? Did she not perform her duties properly? Did she misbehave with her family? Did she
not fulfil their wishes?

Yes, she couldn’t fulfil their dowry demands. That’s why her husband left her pregnant and
never came to see her. Not even his daughter.

Sakshi accepted her fate. She didn’t take any actions towards her in-laws. She is not aware of the
rights she has. She is unemployed and can’t support her family.

Shanta is a 35 years old woman. She has 5 children. Every day she wakes up at 5:00 am, finishes
her house chores and goes out to work. She washes utensils, cleans houses and takes care of
other people’s houses. She returns in the night and gets reward for her hard work from her
husband, a drunkard who beats her and snatches her money. She shouts, cries and then gets busy
in her children.

But why is she living this life? She is employed and can take care of her and her children. But
she doesn’t know her rights. She doesn’t know that she doesn’t need to live that life.

Sakhsi and Shanta are 2 of thousand women who live their life in silence, in pain and in
acceptance.