From an Abused Cub to a Full-Fledged Lioness: This is Vandana’s Story

Abandoned by her abuser at her uncle’s son’s wedding. Vandana was left destitute; a child being snatched from here and left behind with to others, who she now had to fend for. How did she get here? And, where did she go?

“I come from a very traditional household in Rajasthan”, Vandana explains, where she was brought up with three elder sisters. Following tradition, Vandana was arranged to be married around the same time as them, at the meager age of 15. “I did not want to get married so early, I wanted to study more”. Upon expressing her wishes to her in-laws, she was promised to be able to continue her education after marriage. She was soon to learn that her in-laws were full of empty vows. After much protest she was immediately forced to have children after her marriage, completely eliminating any opportunity for further education. To top this off, destiny played a dirtier card with her as she was now in the grasp of an abusive, alcoholic and adulterous husband. Humiliation, disrespect, and physical and mental pain had become a part of her daily struggle.

She was tortured for three more years before she was finally given the opportunity to enter the gates of freedom.

“I can’t tell you why, as I am not sure of it, but I was pregnant – with a daughter on the way – and my husband decided to leave me and my son at my uncle’s son’s wedding, and ran away with my eldest son!”.

Vandana [Translated by interviewer]

While she was free from the torture, the trauma still ran deep, and her family really tried to send her back to her marital home. Her husband refused to speak with her or answer her lingering questions or give her any sort of explanation but found his voice to say one thing to her: “I am going to leave you like this, I will not legally divorce you!”

Now, living with her parents, Vandana spent her time silent and silenced. She would occasionally speak to her neighboring childhood friend who would eventually be the one to bring her out of her struggle and solitude.

After three years of seeing Vandana suffer, her friend decided that she should live like this no more. She convinced Vandana to accompany her to a vocational center she was attending organized by Sambhali Trust. Vandana was in awe of their teachings, and felt unparalleled support from “Bhaiyaji” – referring to Govind [the founder of Sambhali] – and decided that it would be best to join as she desired to be an inspiration for her children. Learning the new skills taught at Sambhali finally gave Vandana the opportunity to emerge out of her shell, as she explains “here, I got to learn everything; from sewing, stitching and using the computer, to self-defense and English, they taught it all!”

As she started to master her skills, become more confident with her interactions and felt the need to provide for her own children on her own earnings, she thought it was a good time for her to get a job. She shared her feelings with the members of the center and thence her career journey began! One of the members of the Trust came across a job with flexible working hours, suiting Vandana perfectly as she still wanted to be physically present in her children’s lives, and she took it on immediately. She currently works as a delivery rider, where she delivers clothing orders across the city in Jodhpur on the back of her scooter.

Yet, again, her hardships run in abundance as she seems to be prone to injury time and again and suffers from chronic health issues. During these 15 months of her job, she has already been the victim of multiple road accidents, where she also faced a collision with a BUS! As a result, she had broken her right arm two times and her left arm once amongst other ‘minor’ yet major injuries! Still, she currently sits in front of us with a smile larger than the world, and a broken right arm! A Sheerni in her own right.

Luckily, not all hope is lost for Vandanaas her work environment honors her presence with gratitude and great respect. Her several injuries have not hindered her role and position at her company as she finds herself supported by her colleagues, who all happen to be male. They were the ones to bring her to the hospital when she faced her accidents, and they were the ones who trained her tremendously when she was shy and confused with the new work culture. While all of her physically present colleagues are male, she finds a great female support system through the head offices of the company, where the HR team, with three women, are always looking out for her to ensure that she is comfortable. She is currently the only female rider in Jodhpur who works at the company, yet she feels no discomfort whatsoever. In her current state, she continues to go into the office and aid with any desk-related jobs. Here, she truly feels at home and heard, where her colleagues understand and sympathize with her abundant struggles.

Vandana is forever grateful to Sambhali, as she says:

“The best thing for me has been Sambhali. Coming here has made me the strong woman I am today.”

Vandana [Translated by interviewer]

She trusts the Trust indefinitely, and hopes to pass on its teachings to her children who, now, also attend the education centers of Sambhali!

By Soniya Nahata

This article was published on Femmishya, a platform that seeks to share impactful and impressive practices and actions that women have been engaging in, and reprinted here with permission.