Married at 13 and ditched by husband three years later, Assam’s Lakhsmirani has set a precedent by driving an auto-rickshaw to eke out a living.
She is an inspiration to women dumped by their husbands over dowry demands. Lakhsmirani Barman of Assam has set a precedent by driving an auto-rickshaw to eke out a living.
Married at 13 and ditched by husband at 16, Lakhsmirani has braved it all: the run of the militants, foggy nights, leering policemen ... the list is long.
She hails from Boko, around 50km west of Guwahati. The routes she takes are often used by the militants.
At 38 today, she is self-reliant. She runs a family of four successfully. She not only looks after her aged mother, but also sent her younger son to college. It all began in 1990 when her husband Abani Barman dumped her and married another woman.
“My husband was a teacher who left me in 1990, three years after our marriage, and married another woman. Then I went back to my parents. Initially, I sold clothes in market. But then people would always tease me saying I was young and so should find a partner again. I felt disturbed by such utterances and closed my shop one day,” Lakhsmirani told DNA.
By that time, she had saved some money and in 2004 bought an auto rickshaw, her new lease of life.
“My husband used to torture me seeking more dowry. My father was a fishmonger. So he could hardly meet my husband’s demands,” Lakhsmirani said. Her elder son is married but does little to support the family.
She says everyone, except for some leering policemen, lauds her effort. Her mother would always weep to see her daughter risking her life.
Lakhsmirani’s husband has two sons from his second wife but both are mentally challenged. “It is the result of his sin. I can never forgive him for spoiling my life,” she added.
Assam labour minister Prithibi Majhi said Lakhsmirani has shown that misfortune could not be a deterrent to self-reliance. “It is our duty to provide security to women who defy convention for a decent living,” he added.
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