Shelter for Women Escaping Trafficking & Abuse

“When I met her in end of February 2018, her frail and tired body was carrying twins to the term. I heard she was just 19”, Said Nilanjana Chowdhury, Volunteer and Friend of Suprava or SPMUS visiting MissingLink Shelter. Let us call the young pregnant girl and now a mother, Kamala to protect her and her children’s identity. Kamala’s case came to the notice of Suprava’s field staff when her mother was trying to find a way out for her daughter’s plight in a marital relationship. Kamala is the sixth of eight daughters. Her father is a migrant labor who works on daily wage in the city and hardly stays with the family. Kamala lived with her mother and her two younger sisters in one room hut. Kamala’s mother was forced to arrange Kamala’s wedding at a young age due to the pressure from the neighbors and society where they reside. The poor mother didn’t have enough resources to do the background check of the potential groom who was married twice before marrying Kamala.  The poor family paid dowry (illegal in India) to marry Kamala off and the young girl got pregnant soon after the wedding. Now, Kamala started facing a new challenge. The husband and his family were after her to abort her pregnancy as they got to know through ultrasound (AGAIN ILLEGAL in India) the sex of the fetus. They were girls! Kamala’s struggle doubled with mental and physical violence. She was denied food. She ran away to her mother the day her marital family tried to take her life. Suprava could provide Kamala the adequate health care, nutritious food and legal guidance while she stayed in the shelter to fight her legal battle at the advance stage of her pregnancy.

After few days she gave birth to her beautiful twins- a daughter and a son. They are healthy and so is Kamala. She won the legal battle with the legal aid she received from Suprava in the following month under family court of India and her husband needs to pay her childcare and alimony now. Kamala does not want to go back to the marital home although the pressure is on given the prevailing social norms. Rather she is trying to find her career options and she might complete her high school through open (distance learning) school once she settles in her motherly role. In the meantime, Kamala’s mother is determined to let her two younger daughters study more rather marrying them off soon and trying to find ways and means to support her bright daughters for their higher studies. 

This month when we all celebrate our Mothers lets pledge a support to young mothers like Kamala who are ready take care of their own fate and mother’s like Kamala’s mother who are ready to accept their faults and willing to change for future against all odds.

We provided shelter, nutritious meals and casework support to 19 young women between February to April 2018. The team also reached and provided its legal guidance to 15 more victims of domestic violence through its outreach services. The regular work of Suprava complemented the awareness program on MissingLink shelter through out these months and helped the team to reach out to young vulnerable girls in need. All these was possible because donors, friends, volunteers like you support us in this journey to help young girls like Kamala and handle their cases with utmost dignity and care. We have miles to before we reach our goal of dignified life for women in Murshidabad. Meanwhile, our small successes like Kamala’s case keep us motivated and determined towards our mission of eliminating violence against women.