My Story
I was 24 when someone attempted to rape and murder me. For the longest time, I carried this within me. I managed to seek legal justice. The perpetrator was imprisoned for ten years. They said, "We won the case".
But, for some reason, it did not make me feel any better.​ HOW is this winning exactly? How can a stranger violate me, assault me, wound my body and soul for a lifetime, and think that it was okay?
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On one of my visits to the court, a girl, about 15, was sitting next to me. She had bruises on her face, the way I did. I asked her what happened.
She was raped. The horror that I could escape only out of sheer luck had happened to her.​​
What can I do? - This question irked me over and over again. I joined Teach for India to sensitise my kids to the violence against women and support them with their abuse and trauma. Post that, I went to grad school to deepen my understanding of Psychology and Mental health counselling.
It's a common perception that going to therapy is for "rich" people. But people are dying because of their mental health issues. They are suffering in silence because their suffering wasn't visible. It's not as superficial as it seems on social media; it's much more fundamental than that. Sometimes it is just about survival.
I work for the girl who was raped.
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I work for all the little girls who were abused.
But, above all,
I work for that 24-year-old Shraddha sitting outside the court, hiding her face, because something unspeakable had happened to her.