The Centre for Social Research (CSR) manages Crisis Intervention Centres in Uttam Nagar and Vasant Kunj, Delhi. We receive cases of domestic violence and marital discord. We not only counsel the victims but also assist them in their legal procedures for justice. Following is a case study of one of the victims who faced domestic violence and is on the verge of destitution. CSR is in process of extending required help to the victim so that she can not only come out of the situation emotionally; but can also raise her 2 children.
At the age of 16 years, Rehana fell in love with Faraz (name changed) and eloped with him, only to return to her parents after 3 days. After 1.5 years of living with her parents, she again eloped with the same guy and got in touch with her family after a month or so. Her parents decided to marry her off to Faraz, although they much preferred she completed her education. Rehana’s parents felt pressurized by societal chagrin and felt that the couple should marry after having eloped twice already. The first two times Rehana eloped, her parents had lodged a ‘missing person’s’ police complaint citing family discord as the reason to her disappearance.
After being married to Faraz, Rehana started facing abuse from him and his family. She had been thrown out of her in-laws’ house multiple times over and Faraz, who left Delhi under the pretext of work, abandoned Rehana to the mercy of his family. For most part, Rehana did not know where her husband was and why is it that he never kept in touch with her. After one child and a couple of years’ into the marriage, Rehana realized that Faraz is part of trafficking racket in Mumbai. It was also by then that Rehana was tossed around in other people’s homes whenever Faraz’s parents would throw her out of the house. It was in one of those times that Rehana suffered miscarriage because Faraz manhandled her. Rehana sought her parents’ help when she conceived the second time. After the birth of their daughter, it seemed that Faraz had softened towards Rehana. However, that illusion was short-lived.
By the time Rehana gave birth to her second child, she had attempted earning livelihood by making footwear and trying to make the marriage work by tracing her husband whenever he would leave Delhi for work. Faraz returned eventually but only when he was informed that Rehana had been raped by a neighbor. Since Rehana is from a minority community, her in-laws were dependent on the decision of the community based Panchayat because the rapist belonged to the Gujjar community. Rehana’s parents took Rehana back along with Faraz and their children. Faraz became unwell and was nursed to health by Rehana’s family. After recovering, Faraz again left Delhi under the pretext of work. He did not get in touch with Rehana despite her efforts to reach out to him. After a certain time period, Faraz got in touch with Rehana to inform her that he has found someone else. After that, Faraz kept making excuses to extort money from Rehana and her family. Once he faked being kidnapped and the other time he lied about having Cancer. The last straw of Rehana’s emotional resilience was when Faraz video-called Rehana and she saw him getting intimate with another woman on the call.
She wants an out from the marriage and a stable source of income so that she can raise her 2 children.
