From pain and sadness to an independent life

Sayali had lived a life full of many difficulties. Her mother passed away when she was in 5^th grade, her father swiftly remarried and Sayali was abused and mistreated by her stepmother. These hardships made up most of her adolescent life.

‘I was an adolescent. As I was unable to find any other options I decided to get married and therefore I accepted my husband’s proposal. However he was dishonest with me, telling me that he worked as a police officer before we got married. At the time I believed luck was finally in my favor. However, after the marriage I came to know that he was a garment worker. As my husband is the only son of his parents, they wanted to throw a grand party for the marriage by demanding a very large dowry. When it was revealed that this was not feasible my mother-in-law started to abuse me. Thus began my family life with the pain and sadness of abuse. However, as many other Bengali women my situation was not an exception. I felt very alone until one day I met a staff member from the Women’s Café. Through awareness sessions and training I came to know about women’s rights and importance of health care. I believe every adolescent girl as well as every woman should have access to knowledge on sexual diseases, reproductive health right and menstrual hygiene. During my pregnancy, the Master Trainer of the Women’s Café gave me suggestions regarding safe pregnancy and how to care for my child after giving birth. By following these instructions I gave birth to a healthy son. Now my son is 1.5 years old. With my child growing up and the expenses of our family increasing it became very difficult for my husband to bear all the expenses alone. Here again the Master Trainer intervened to help me by suggesting that I bring my child to their Day Care Center so I could focus on finding a job. I was able to find a job in a nearby garments factory and admit my son in the Day Care Center.  Now I am a financially solvent, independent working woman, and while at work I know my son is in good hands.’