Draped in a yellow, blue and magenta sari, hands full of bangles, Kajri is busy cuddling her four-month-old daughter, Prerna.
‘I have named her Prerna, meaning inspiration in Hindi, because she gave my life a new meaning,’ she says confidently as she begins to narrate her story.
Kajri is 25 years old. She was born and brought up in a slum in India’s sprawling capital city, Delhi. Unlike many her age, she got an opportunity to study until class seven. ‘Though limited in resources, my parents made sure that my two siblings and I went to school. Circumstances forced us to drop out,’ she adds, ‘but the education that I got then helped me fight a battle for my rights now.’
Last year Kajri got married. ‘I had a gala wedding, a wedding hardly anyone in our community can imagine. I moved to a village some 200 kilometres from Delhi, but the dream soon came crashing down.’
Once young women are married, she explains, they are expected to have a baby.
‘My husband was understanding at first. He made sure we got to know each other. I got pregnant in May 2012 and I felt out of this world. But then, on a visit to the doctor, I was told that I needed to abort as the child was dead. I trusted my husband and without question, I complied. This was repeated the second time I got pregnant. I was perplexed as to why this had happened again. So I decided to visit the doctor alone.’
Kajri speaks with tears in her eyes: ‘The doctor was surprised at my question. She said I couldn’t have wanted the child, because I willingly aborted it both times, although the child was absolutely all right.’
Kajri was angry and rushed home to her husband, wanting answers. ‘My husband was annoyed at my audacity to question him. He picked up a bamboo stick and I was beaten mercilessly.’
Things settled down again and Kajri adjusted to the situation. Going back to live with her parents was not an option.
‘I conceived again in September 2012. This time I made sure to visit the doctor alone and did not undergo any test without first asking the doctor. But my in-laws were pushing for a test which the doctor told me was to find out the sex of the child, even though this is illegal. I resisted, but it was getting harder.
‘When things became too difficult, I lied to my husband that my mother was ill and I needed to go to her. I came back to my mother’s place and told her everything. My mother gave me shelter. My husband came many times to try and take me but my mother resisted, using different excuses. She even lied once, saying that the doctor had said that I was expecting a boy, so that I would be saved my husband’s anger.
‘I gave birth to a girl. My husband was not willing to accept her. He wanted me to come back home without her so we could plan for another baby, but I refused. Eventually I went back to my husband’s place. I was not welcomed there. But I held on to my daughter.
‘I resist any effort that is made to take my child away from me and have even threatened to lodge a complaint with the police. I’m a daily-wage worker and the little I earn goes on taking care of my daughter. My husband does not give any financial support for her. But I am sure I will win this battle of making Prerna a part of the family and giving her the childhood that my father gave me.’
Kajri is still with her husband, but is determined that if she gets pregnant with a daughter again she will defend her too, as she has Prerna.
