"डॉक्टर साब, मै सबसे अच्छी थी, अब खराब हो गई |"
These are the words of a 30 year old woman who has been admitted with 95% third degree burns. Her husband's family ignited her body with petrol. Why? She was unable to conceive in her 10 years of marriage.
Her words tore me apart. An innocent woman, lying infront of me, fighting for her life. Can you even imagine the agony this woman went through? The horror of being a woman in this country. You're not safe, even in your own house. How I wish she could have escaped this predicament. A harrowing tale that makes you realise the importance of standing up to injustice. It would have turned out differently if she could have left her husband the day he started the abuse and violence. Divorce needs to be normalised. Subsequent marriages as well. Even more so in rural setups. Woman from rural households fear ostracism and this costs them their lives.
"किसने कहा तुम खराब हो? तुम अभी भी सबसे अच्छी हो |" She needs to know that there is nothing wrong with her. It's this world that is wrong, people that are wrong. As I scrubbed her body to remove more of the dead skin, she goes on to tell me how she loves listening to songs while she used to work. I ask her if she would like to listen to some music.
"अभी नही डॉक्टर साब, सही हो जाएंगे तब सुनेंगे |"
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