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Profiles of Single Women and their Struggles |
| SUTRA has collated svereal case studies on the struggles single women face in pursuit of security and sustenance in Himachal Pradesh |
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Chameli Devi
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 Hemlata Devi
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Jai Devi |
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Lata Devi
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Radha Devi |
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 Savitri Devi
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Vidya Devi |
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Vinay Mittal |
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 Chameli Devi
Chameli Devi is 31 years old, from Ghumarwin in Bilaspur, got married at the age of 25. At that time, she was still in college completing her Master of Arts. She was writing her third paper when she got a proposal to get married to a Post Office Branch Manager.
She hoped to meet her future husband and expected to be able to talk with him and find out whether they liked each other.
However, she did not really manage to talk to him personally, because he did not see what they should talk about. Even at their wedding day he remained silent most of the time.
When she eventually went to live in his place, she found out that he did not have the education and job, which he claimed he had, before their marriage. He had only completed his 10th grade.
At her husbands home her in-laws forced her to hand over everything of value, which she had brought with her, including her gold and the DVD player. They gave her a very small room with just a bed and kept her locked, they feared she would leave since she knew the truth about her husband.
They kept her under surveillance and Chameli Devi had to do work she was not used to. She had to cut grass, which was three kilometres away. They constantly gave her food she did not like and her husband harassed her, but still she did not dare to speak to her parents about it.
Her sister, however, who lives a few blocks away from Chameli's husband's place, realised that there was something wrong and talked to their parents.
They promised to come and see her and when they came, she was locked in her room. Her sister felt that Chameli Devi would be embarrassed to be seen in such circumstances, so they did not meet, but afterwards, the parents decided to send her brother, who came together with his wife. The two of them talked to the in-laws and told them that they wanted to take Chameli Devi home, so that she could see her sister and the parents.
The in-laws started to fight with them and called the village people for support and eventually the crowd, according to Chameli Devi, was as big as 150 people. The in-laws accused her of buying her education certificates.
When the police came, they took the in-laws to the Police Station and told them to let Chameli Devi go home for five days and then decide further. First, her husband was against it and even said that she was married to this house and that only her dead body would go away. Eventually, however, she was allowed to go. The police called her parents later and told them that it was not advisable to send Chameli Devi back to the in-laws place, since they would just punish her for what had happened.
The whole incident happened approximately two months after the wedding in 2002. She stayed at her parent's house for almost two months, instead of the five days and thus the in-laws filed a case against her. Chameli Devi did not eat properly and rarely spoke with anyone and felt very depressed during that period.
After another month, her husband wanted to take her home again but when her father refused, he suddenly asked for a divorce. Chameli Devi's father said that there was no reason to ask for it, since his daughter was very well educated.
Chameli Devi's husband claimed that she was mentally unstable and that this was the reason why he wanted to end the marriage. So her father replied that he knew this was not true, but if Chameli Devi's husband could tell him a place, then he would send his daughter for therapy and therefore this reason would be eliminated.
Her husband offered Rs. 50,000/- in return if he got a divorce instantly. Chameli Devi and her family refused, so he only came back after some time to announce with the support of the Panchayat that he wanted to give her a divorce and marry again. She told him to do whatever he liked, but that she would definitely not accept a divorce.
Chameli Devi says that if one gets married it is not to get divorced afterwards and that was what she wanted to show him. Three months later he got married. Without the support of a lawyer, she fought in court to get compensation and when the judge asked him whether he wanted to take her home and he repeatedly said no. Chameli Devi offered a divorce if she got five lakh or four lakh in cash. Her husband instantly changed his views and accepted to take her home, but only as an additional hand to do work in the house and the land. The judge said that he could arrest him for saying that.
Besides this case, she also filed another case in order to get compensation for all the time spent in the court and also for his getting illegally married to another woman. She knew that he had significant property in two districts and wants to get some part of it as compensation.
First she got Rs 15,000 compensation but then her husband filed a case in return, saying that she got too much money.
Eventually, he started saying that he was not even married to Chameli Devi and now it is up to her lawyers to actually find proof of their marriage and also prove that he got married again to another woman.
Chameli Devi has applied to get the Rs 500 compensation for single women in case she has to give back all of the compensation she got so far from the husband. However, as long as she is not willing to accept a divorce, she is not officially defined as a single woman.
When she joined SUTRA in January 2006, she says she was not so keen in the beginning, but there was a legal aid in several meetings who gave her information on how to attain what she wants in court and she highly appreciated that. For now, Chameli Devi just wants to get as much compensation from her husband as she can, but she can definitely not imagine going back to live with him.
She still continues her education and is looking for a government job and if she does not get one, she wants to start her own business. When she first joined SUTRA she was a little reluctant to do the fieldwork or anything other than being just a member, but now she feels she can help others and wants to make a difference.
Chameli Devi says she is sure that there will be a positive change in the future concerning the status of women, since they will be more confident to raise their voices. Nevertheless, she says it is always very important that the women really check whom they are getting married to before the wedding to avoid a bad situation later. ?
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