Bibi* recalls her struggle to seek help from authorities, only to be met with silence. Now a resilient single mother, she runs a small cosmetics shop in Haryana’s Nuh, determined to build a better life for her daughter on her own.

“I trust people very easily, I love helping people,” said Pooja*, who works as a cook and domestic worker in south Delhi. Despite being the main breadwinner, her husband frequently beat her, especially after drinking.

When she became pregnant and sought an abortion, doctors discouraged her saying it was her first pregnancy. The abuse escalated after their son was born. “He used to force himself on me right after my pregnancy. If I refused, he would become violent.” Pooja’s harrowing words expose the brutal reality of marital rape and violence that many women endure.

Bibi recalled, “I had to seek help from my neighbours.” Women face the highest rates of violence in their matrimonial homes. The latest official data shows that 1,44,593 cases where women endured cruelty from their husbands or in-laws in 2022. It shows a steady rise in crimes against women, increasing from 41.7 per lakh in 2012 to 66.4 in 2022.

Bibi is fighting a domestic violence case against her husband. She approached the One Stop Centre three years ago, but nothing came of it, as the staff there were relatives of her abusive husband, she said. Taking matters into her own hands, she brought the case to court. Now living at her maternal home, she raises her daughter alone with no support.

For many women in India, marriage is a binding contract that often strips them of autonomy. The women we spoke to described homes that felt like cages, where societal expectations trap them. Violence lurks silently here, behind closed doors, and filing an FIR against a husband [or in-laws] takes exceptional courage, especially amid stigma and shame. 

On October 3, 2024, the Union government argued before the Supreme Court that labeling marital rape as ‘rape’ is “excessively harsh” and could threaten the institution of marriage.

Sometimes, ‘home' is not a refuge but a prison with invisible bars – where options are scarce, and freedom is a distant dream. Women in India increasingly face violence within their homes. In 2022 alone, 140,019 cases of cruelty by husbands and in-laws were reported. And, 6,516 women were murdered for dowry the same year. The data, however, records only the reported cases. Many more often go unreported.

In Nuh, the district’s One Stop Centre, meant to support women in distress, is run by a man — violating guidelines that require these centers be led by women. Many women feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences of violence. Launched in 2015 to provide shelter, legal aid, police assistance, and counseling, the scheme has struggled with low awareness, poor funding, and indifference from staff and police, as revealed by a hidden NITI Aayog study and exclusive government records uncovered in The Reporters Collective’s recent investigation.

Twelve years after the brutal Nirbhaya gangrape and murder, a woman holds a placard that says, “Break that society that binds women today” during a protest at AIIMS in New Delhi on August 15, that marked India’s independence day. The demonstration followed the shocking rape and murder  of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, 2024, which sparked nationwide protests and outrage.

High-profile cases like the Nirbhaya case and the recent one in Kolkata spark outrage and media attention, but many others go unnoticed, exposing class and caste bias in societal response. Violence against women in India is pervasive and rooted in systemic inequalities, with reported rape cases increasing from 24,923 in 2012 to 31,516 in 2022. 

Marginalised women, particularly Dalit women, are especially vulnerable; in 2022, 4,241 rape cases involved Dalit women, assaulted by those from dominant castes.

Now separated and living at her maternal home in Nuh, Kamlesh stays with her mother and her daughter. Her husband used to beat her if the children cried or dinner was late. When she returned to her maternal home, many labeled her a “wrong woman.” The first time her husband and in-laws attacked her was after she gave birth to a daughter. Despite giving him multiple chances, she eventually chose to live separately and support her children on her own.

Kamlesh chose to redefine her story after initially filing a case against her husband. She found strength not in the courtroom but in a community of women. In 2022, she visited the One Stop Centre to help other women, but found little help. Reflecting on women’s struggles in India, she says, “If the government wants, they can help, but only a few cases see the light of day.”

Kamlesh worked as a mid-day meal worker in Haryana and raised her children single-handedly. Her daughter is now a Panchayat member in the region.