Vani is a young mother with two children. She lives with her husband and children in Kuttemukkalu village at Mailavaram, Andhra Pradesh. While her husband works as a police constable, Vani is engaged with household work and looking after her family.
Vani, who stays a distance away from her maternal family, visits them once in a while to ensure their health and safety. When she is gone, her neighbour would help Vani’s husband with food and household chores. In time, Vani’s husband and their neighbour got friendly. When Vani returned from her mother’s house and observed this, she felt very uncomfortable. She heard about her husband’s infidelity from her neighbours and wanted proof about what was happening.
One day, when Vani was passing her neighbour’s house, she saw her husband’s shoes outside. When she went in to check, she found both of them inside the house. Vani confronted her husband about his infidelity and subsequently moved to her mother’s house. Vani and her parents, who were really upset, went to the police station to seek mediation. The mediation went well and Vani and her husband decided to give their marriage another chance and started living together again. But this was just the beginning of a long period of torture for Vani. Her husband was frustrated and embarrassed and started hitting her, pinching her and even burning her with cigarettes. He resumed his affair with the lady and this time did not bother hiding this from Vani.
With the help of KVMS, Vani and her family members lodged a complaint in the same police station where her husband was working. The Sub Inspector who took the case and knew Vani’s husband reprimanded him about the whole situation. Based on the complaint the Sub Inspector said he could dismiss Vani’s husband from the job, but she requested him not to dismiss him as her children’s future depended on it. She also requested him to give her husband a second chance provided he was ready to live with her and look after her family.
Upon Vani’s request, both KVMS members and the police warned Vani’s husband and gave him another chance. But they are very vigilant and ensure that Vani and her children are safe and her husband takes care of them. Though he has been violent, Vani feels she is better off with him living with her. She credits the CBO for having helped her negotiate a better life with him.