Sex assaults, hostile in-laws: life for widows of India’s farmer suicide epidemic
- Over 200,000 farmers have killed themselves in the past 20 years, driven to despair by crop losses and debt
- The wives left behind are often sexually assaulted, and struggle to inherit their husband’s land – even while being saddled with his debt
Manisha Uke checks herself in the tiny mirror on the wall, one last time before heading out. Gently, she dabs powder under her left eye where black patches have developed from clotted blood.
“You have to show them you are tough,” says Uke, 29, “even if you are broken inside.”
Uke has felt broken many times in the past two years. First, when her husband, Manoj, hanged himself in the family home. Manoj, a farmer, had despaired at his inability to repay a debt of US$1,122 as he battled repeated crop losses and a leg injury that prevented him from working.
Just months later, while she was still recovering from the loss, she woke to find her sister’s husband trying to force himself upon her while she was sleeping.
A month ago, that feeling of being broken returned.
Her brother, who had opposed her decision to lead an independent life outside of the family following her husband’s death, arrived at her village drunk and caught hold of her as she was walking to the local government office. He demanded she give him her wages and showered her with insults.