I met her at an institute. She was newly married and had
joined a course to improve her skills. Since she was highly qualified, I could
not understand her need to join the course. Her husband was working abroad.
Later on, I came to know that she was staying with her mother-in-law who
treated her as a servant. She had to do all the household chores which included
sweeping the house and the surrounding area, cooking for everybody, washing
clothes and dishes etc.
To escape the torture, she had joined the course. Initially,
her mother-in-law did not allow her to join the course. She talked to her
husband who convinced his mother that if she does the course, she will get a
good job once she joins him abroad and they will be able to send her more
money. Her mother-in-law agreed but on one condition. She had to get up very
early every morning and finish all the household chores before going for class.
She agreed to the condition and chose a full time course so that she could
spend as much time as possible away from her mother-in-law. She then prolonged
the course till she got her dependent visa to join her husband.
It is surprising that this could happen in kerala, the most
literate state in India .
