Because … I want them to see how it feels, I want the world to understand how rape and violence destroy a woman’s will to live.’
I’ve been living in different shelters for the last 6 years, since I was 15. I came from a prosperous family. When I was 13, a man from my neighbourhood abducted me to Mumbai. I can’t forget the smell of the customers, their bulging eyes. I slashed my wrists in desperation. A customer took pity on me. He took me away from the brothel, and my trafficker and the brothel owner were arrested. But the court case has gone on for so many years. God knows when I will be able to go home. I must work. I’m HIV positive. I must earn enough to pay for my medicines.
*name given
Narrative ‘Girl in Pain’ featured in the project ‘Another Me: Transformations from Pain to Power’
