Still behind every man?

A woman called Reshma does our dishes at home. She also sweeps and dusts the place for a sum of Rs 700 a month. I don't know her last name, despite the fact that she has been with us for over a year now. What I do know is, she comes from Maharashtra's smallest city, Panhala once capital of the Maratha State and famous for its fort the only one where, according to rudimentary tourist websites, Chhatrapati Shivaji spent the most amount of time outside his childhood homes. I also know that Reshma is punctual, efficient, and funny when she chooses to speak, which is often. On the days she doesn't speak, I know it's because she has been beaten up by her husband.

'My husband doesn't care about the police. He will get away within minutes.' As his second wife (and the younger one), she says it's her feisty nature that provokes him. He has two children with his first wife, who doesn't work, and two with Reshma, who is forced to work because there simply isn't enough money to go around. He can't stand the fact that she helps provide for the family, apparently, and accuses her of being too proud for her own good. His anger then compels him to attack her.

I have tried, time and again, to convince Reshma to report her husband to the police. I have offered to invite them to my home, and have her speak to them there instead. I have offered to call NGOs that deal with domestic violence. Reshma refuses every offer. "My husband doesn't care about the police," she says. "He will get away within minutes. What will I do then?" My reassurances mean nothing to her.

Her solution, for now, is to bear the abuse until her children grow up and take her away. Panhala offers no job opportunities, she says, so her mother can't afford to keep her there. She doesn't want to disrupt her children's education either.

Reshma has nothing to look forward to. Stretching before her are years of dishwashing, the annual week-long trip to her mother's home, and the dim hope that her children will study enough to land a job that can help them support their mother.

As politicians debated the pros and cons of the Women's Reservation Bill a few weeks ago, I asked Reshma if more empowered women in politics would make any difference to her. She laughed for a few seconds, then asked, "Will they manage to take decisions without asking their husbands for permission?" I haven't thought of a reply yet.