Though she had rebelled against her family, Usha believed that Thapa, a local of Simaldhari village of Udarapur VDC-2 of Banke district, would support her and stay by her side through thick and thin.
But things did not go as expected for Usha. As she came from a Dalit family, Usha was always troubled by her in-laws and was forced to leave Dal Bahadur’s house after two years of marriage. Having nowhere to go, she had returned to her maternal home in Kohalpur VDC-8.
Even as political parties and rights activists have been regularly raising their voice for ensuring the rights of women and ending caste-based discrimination, Usha’s case bespeaks very little has been done to end discrimination against women.
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Talking to Republica, Usha said she was looked down upon by her in-laws as she came from a Dalit family. “After a few months of marriage, they started mistreating me. They tortured me mentally and physically and treated me like I as some kind of an animal,” said BK. “They never treated me like a daughter-in-law,” she added.
But this was not all she endured at her husband’s home. Before forcing her to leave the house, they hid her marriage certificate and did not allow her to apply for birth certificate for their granddaughter. Later, Dal Bahadur took second wife at the insistence of his parents, while Usha was left to fend for herself.
But Usha did not lose hope and decided to fight for her rights. She filed a complaint against Dal Bahadur and his second wife. They are currently in police custody.
