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Sector: Single Women
From the day she was married off, Kaya Devi was
a victim to domestic violence. Her drunk husband
would often beat her until she could not stand.
Kaya Devi had no one to turn to because she
lived in the home of her father and mother
in-law and they would always take the
side of her husband. They made Kaya Devi believe
that she was useless and deserved her husband’s
beatings. Without telling a person, Kaya Devi
continued her life and accepted her fate.
As time passed, Kaya Devi became the mother of
three daughters and one son. Her husband still
abused her and now started beating his
daughters. Always drunk and unable to work, the
family expenses could not be met. Kaya Devi’s
mother in-law blamed her son’s condition on her
and threw her out of the house. Unable to care
for herself and her children, Kaya Devi roamed
from house to house begging for money and food.
She never thought that her own husband and
in-laws would kick her out of her house and
leave their children destitute.
 Depressed,
Kaya Devi felt she had no reason to survive. Her
children were starving and dying before her own
eyes and she could not even provide them with
food. She stayed in a small hut only suitable
for animals. But she had no choice.
Kaya Devi’s state would soon change after a
chance meeting with Dr. Kshama Metre
(affectionately known as Dr. Didi). While Kaya
Devi was on her way to the market, she saw a
woman walking dressed in a white sari. Kaya Devi
was familiar with CORD because some CORD workers
lived in her village and because of the close
proximity of her home to the CORD center. She
had heard about what Dr. Didi was doing for
people in rural villages and approached her for
help. Dr. Didi listened to her story and took
her back to the center. Kaya Devi’s life would
never be the same. A CORD worker told her about
the organization’s many Community Based
Livelihood programs. Interested, Kaya Devi
decided to start taking khaddi (traditional loom
weaving) training. She brought the knowledge
acquired from CORD
back home but unfortunately did not have space
in her home for a weaving loom. Kaya Devi was
soon introduced to the local Mahila Mandal
(Village Women’s Group) in the village. She also
became a member of a Self Help Group (SHG) so
she could receive financial help. Kaya Devi
worked in nearby fields in order to provide for
her family and slowly her economic condition
improved and she was able meet her children’s
basic needs. Soon, her husband and in-laws asked
her to come back to their home. Suspicious of
their request, Kaya Devi started planning to
build a one room home. The villagers had
witnessed Kaya Devi suffering all these years
and wanted to help her build a home. They
requested that the village Panchayat (local
governing body) give her land. With the help of
a SHG loan and the Panchayat, she began
construction of her new home. She wanted to be
able to take care of her children if conditions
did not change with her husband.
Just as she had predicted, the moment Kaya Devi
returned home her husband began beating her. Her
children soon became victims of her husband’s
wrath when they tried to intervene on behalf of
their mother. The injuries of the children were
proof that Kaya Devi’s husband had lost control
and this forced CORD to take legal action. But
Kaya Devi had no choice but to stay there so her
children would be financially taken care of. The
beating continued for almost two years until
Kaya Devi’s house was completed. The moment it
was completed she left her husband and moved to
her new home with her children. She had wanted
to take them out of her husband’s home and now
had the opportunity to do so.
With the help of CORD she decided to start a
dairy. Although a buffalo was a huge expense for
Kaya Devi, she relied on her SHG for a loan to
finance part of the cost. Able to buy a buffalo,
she started using some of the milk and selling
the rest. She was proud of her business and for
the first time with her own hard work she could
provide for her children. Kaya Devi’s
determination to become independent paid off and
she was able to buy one more buffalo and three
goats. Her income increased as a result of her
dairy business and she sent all of her children
to school.
Kaya Devi has bravely created a new home and
life for her children all by herself.
Traditionally, rural women are forced to stay in
their homes and they seldom venture outside of
it. But Kaya Devi has proved that that need not
be the norm. She does not need to rely on anyone
so long as she has confidence in her own inner
strength.
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