I’m very worried about finding a job; I’m currently idle, and it feels awful all day. That’s why I’m writing down my past, the parts I remember—it helps me see it all in front of me. The uncle who suggested I get a job was practically a godsend to me. I never told him everything, nor would I be here now if I hadn’t talked to him. Whenever I spoke with him, my husband was right there listening in. Then I said, “Alright, I’ll leave my daughter somewhere and come.” So I left my two-year-old daughter with her maternal grandmother. My mom didn’t want to keep anyone, especially my kids, but I begged her, “Just keep them for a few days,” folding my hands. Thus, both my daughters stayed with their grandmother—one was five and the other two. They were so little, and I left them behind to go get a job, completely on my own—no money, no support. All I had was faith in God, nothing else. I didn’t know anyone there; I just had my hopes and my trust in Him.
I told my brother, “Bhaiya, I’m going to Delhi-Haryana now, I’m going to work.” He said, “How will you manage? Have you ever traveled alone?” I replied, “No, but I’ll do it.” My sister, Priyanka, told my brother, “Mona has traveled with Guddu Ji before, so she must keep her eyes open. She knows how to get to Delhi,” and she laughed. Then my brother just said, “Alright, go. What else can we do?” He got me a ticket. I set off alone, taking my confidence and my faith in God with me. I arrived, and that uncle got me a job.
My first job was at an export company, but I couldn’t manage there. I quit after three or four days; it just wasn’t working out. My foot got so swollen that I couldn’t stand. Then I applied for another job and got hired at a different company, JNS. I worked there properly. There were a few issues at first, but gradually things settled, I adapted, and carried on. I was living alone.
A few months later, my husband and my father-in-law came to my room. They started insulting me—calling me dirty and saying worse things. I listened in utter helplessness. There’s a saying that if you want to break a woman, accuse her of something shameful, because she can’t prove otherwise. People think, “She lives alone, so obviously she must be with someone,” as if a woman can’t possibly live by herself. I was young, so they’d say whatever they liked. Then my landlord came and said, “You can’t say that; she’s your daughter-in-law.” But my father-in-law replied, “No, she’s worthless, this and that,” spouting all sorts of nasty things. The landlord told him, “You’re worthless, not her. All she does is go to her job. I’ve been watching. I normally don’t rent rooms to single women, but I gave her one because she seemed respectable. We rent out rooms, so we know these things. Now keep quiet and leave—let her stay.”
That night, my father-in-law told my husband, “Look, even the landlord says she’s a good person,” at which point my husband slapped me so hard, I can’t even describe it. Even then I endured it, because nobody around knew anything. In the morning, I cooked and left for work—my company’s vehicle came at 8 a.m., so I went. My husband and my father-in-law showed up at the company gate and started asking, “How many men work here?” The guard told me, “Someone from your home was here, asking how many men are employed.” I said, “There are plenty, no exact count. There are women working here too.” Then they left, saying, “You’re not going.” I said, “No, I’d rather die than go back home.”
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