I have two older sisters and a younger brother. My parents never went to school. I studied till Class VIII in a government school and stayed in a social welfare hostel. Since my mother was not well, my marriage was fixed when I was 13 and my husband was 25. I resisted, but to no avail. My family brought him to my house and my sisters insisted that I marry him.
My husband’s father passed away and his mother abandoned him and remarried. He drives a JCB vehicle in Ranga Reddy district and both of us moved there. My husband worked from 6 a.m to 10 p.m and was never home. I was soon pregnant. I was also alone all day. I wanted to have a boy as I felt a girl would suffer. I was afraid his mother would harm the baby, so I stayed with my parents for a month after my delivery and returned when I felt safe and confident. I manage my baby and the house entirely on my own. However late, I wait for my husband to come home and have dinner. I even had to learn how to dress properly since I was too young and unaware.
Narrative provided by M Venkatarangaiya Foundation in their report ‘…and they never lived happily ever after. The battle for justice goes on: Voices of married girls in Telangana’
