“I hail from a village called Bondempalli which is in the borders of Telangana. I had moved to Hyderabad to make a living. While my husband is a lorry driver, I work as a domestic help at a few houses and also a tailor.
Even as a child, I used to work in farms and animal husbandry. I lost my father when I was barely 6 years old. It was my mother who worked day and in out to feed the 6 of us. Three of my siblings were married by the time we lost our father, so my mother struggled to get the other three of us married. Back in those days, especially in our village, there was no awareness about child marriage. I was married off when I was just 10. I didn’t have worldly knowledge nor did I know about my own body. I couldn’t bear children and that earned me a lot of taunts and harsh words from my family and in-laws. I spent days praying to god, begging to bless me with children.
All the women around my area where I lived used to call me “Godhraalu” (A derogatory word for a woman for being infertile). Let alone extended family, my husband too tortured me for the same. He even went to an extent of getting married to another woman. I was heartbroken. I couldn’t bear the harassment. I had even considered to commit suicide.
Disheartened to see him with another woman, I moved back to my village. Within a year, my husband came back to me after realising that his second wife ran away with all his money.
It was hard to put everything behind me but yet, I did and accepted him again in my life. Well, good things did eventually happen to me. I conceived after 20 years of my marriage. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl who is 3 and a half years old now. My husband and I are saving every penny to give my girl the best of education.
To all the women out there, who are facing the wrath of infertility, please stay strong. It is not your fault even if the world says it is.”