“Kabhi kabhi hum kisi ko isliye bhi khote hain kyunki naseeb me shayad us se bhi accha likha rehta hai (sometimes we lose people because we are destined to meet someone better). Kusum, is around 40 years old and belongs to the SC category. She is mother to three children.
She pauses for a while and then continues “Once I felt as if the whole world is collapsing. I was married when I was only 15-16 years old. My in-laws were living in Kolkata, so I went there but my husband was living in Delhi. I asked him to take me there, but he refused. My expenditures were borne by my in-laws as my husband did not send any money. After a few months, my grandfather who was a drunkard also stopped bearing my expenses. I returned to my mother’s place and remained here. I came to know that my husband was in another relationship with a woman in Delhi. Knowing this, I still wanted to be with him and wanted him to accept me. I had also given birth to a baby girl and her upbringing was a liability on me. I started working with Mahila Samakhya in 1999 but it was not an easy since people around gossiped. They used to say that since this woman is characterless and stays 2-3 days outside by giving excuses hence her husband took the right decision to abandon her.”
Kusum did not lose hope and continued fighting. In 2004, her father suggested that she marry again and she finally accepted though with some reluctance. She gave birth to two children from her second marriage, but she never left her first child from the first marriage. The first child was educated and married into a good family. Today she is the first point of contact for suggestions and guidance in community. People approach her for directions and her opinion on various issues like domestic violence, court cases, education, health, family conflicts etc. She joined the Hamari Dristi federation in 2007 when it came into existence.