Kalpana Saroj’s life (1)
Kalpana Saroj’s life (1)
Kalpana Saroj’s life is a classic rags-to-riches story . Kalpana was not just born poor . She was born into a Dalit family. Dalits, also known as untouchables, are at the bottom of society according to the traditional Indian caste system.
Kalpana says that girls were seen as a burden on their families. And educating girls was seen as a waste . The norm at the time was for Dalit girls to get married young. Her father buckled under the pressure of the community and took her out of school in the 7th grade. He then married her off to a 22-year-old man . Kalpana was just 12 years old.
Her in-laws forbade her from writing home, and they had no telephone . She felt completely alone . If the house wasn’t clean enough or if the food was burnt or too salty, she was beaten. She was regularly kicked, punched and emotionally abused.
Six months after her marriage, her father came to visit . He was shocked to find her starved with ripped clothes and tangled hair. Her husband’s brother told him “See what she’s like? If she doesn’t shape up, we’ll strip her and hang her from a tree.”
Her father was horrified and said he would take her home, but her new family refused . They said that Kalpana was theirs. Kalpana’s father returned the next day and took her home.
One day, while her aunt was cooking dinner, Kalpana went into another room and drank three bottles of rat poison. Her aunt found her frothing at the mouth and screamed . Kalpana fell into a coma but eventually recovered. (To Be Continued...)
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