From Victim to Survivor
Jhorna became a child bride at 14. Now 22, she is a divorced mother of a seven-year-old child.
Jhorna is also one of the 11,000 survivors of domestic violence and other human rights abuses who have received assistance from the USAID-funded Protecting Human Rights (PHR) Programme over the past four years.
Jhornas childhood was very different. She was a beloved daughter and a good student, busy with her studies, at Rohita Union in Monirampur, Jessore. When she was in Class 6, her parents fixed her marriage with a boy from a neighbouring village and the course of her life changed.
Within a few months of her marriage, her mother-in-law began to demand dowry from her father. The pressure started to increase day by day. In connivance with his family, her husband began to abuse her physically. Hearing all this, Jhornas family collected money to send him to Malaysia for work. But the situation got worse when he returned.
Within a week, Jhornas husband held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. It all happened because she had protested against his abusive language towards their daughter. The beatings were aggravated at the instigation of her sister in-law. Eventually, Jhorna took her daughter and fled to her fathers house.
Life was a bit easier at her childhood home. Here, Jhorna was surrounded by people who wanted to help, but didnt know how. One day, her mother went to a courtyard meeting organised by PHR. There, she spoke to a social worker who advised her on ways to help her daughter.
Jhorna was sent to see the PHR social worker, who gave her psychosocial counseling. She was then taken to a PHR community legal counseling centre, where a legal counselor assisted her in filing a formal complaint.
Over the next three weeks, the legal counselor led three mediation sessions in the presence of all involved Jhorna, her husband and respective family members. Without any wish for reconciliation, Jhorna demanded a divorce from her husband. She was not scared anymore.
The mediations, a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), supported Jhornas decision to get divorced. Usually, it takes six months to more than two years to get a divorce in the courts. But with PHRs assistance, Jhornas case was resolved in less than a month.
The mediation also allowed her to keep her daughter. Her ex-husband was asked to fully refund the dower settled at the time of their marriage. The dower was fixed at Tk 45,000, but the ADR managed to collect three times the amount, giving Jhorna Tk 135,000 to rebuild her life.
Finally free and empowered, Jhorna started a new life. She bought a piece of land with the money she received. She then enrolled in a USAID horticulture project and received training on homestead gardening.
She now grows fresh vegetables in her garden and has become self-reliant. Her daughter is studying in Class 2.
I have one plot that is full of vegetables. Now I am happy with my daughter, free from day-to-day sufferin, says Jhorna.
Source: Plan International Bangladesh
