Many women in Punjab, a state in India known for emigration, dream of marrying a man working abroad and following him to a better life overseas. Sharndeep Kaur was one of them. On January 13, 2014, she married Harjinder Singh, who had just returned from Italy, and moved in with his family. However, her in-laws demanded about $10,000 for her husband to resettle in Canada. When she failed to secure the money, they starved and beat her. Eight weeks after the wedding, her husband went back to Italy, and Ms. Kaur never saw him again. Tens of thousands of Indian women have been abandoned by husbands working abroad, according to government officials and activists, trapping many of them in their in-laws’ homes in accordance with local social customs, even for decades.
Some women who have been left behind by husbands are victims of the unfulfilled promises of changing circumstances. Others, however, have been subjected to outright deceit, their families defrauded of dowries, honeymoon expenses, and visa payments. Pursuing the men under more general laws can be difficult if they are abroad, and there are few specific legal remedies available to women whose husbands flee. But eight women have filed a petition with India’s Supreme Court in an effort to press the government to enact policies to deal with what they called a widespread problem.
While Punjab is home to some of India’s richest agricultural land, it has long struggled with unemployment and drug abuse. Billboards promoting English-language training centers and visa consulting firms are evidence of an exodus abroad. Young men often force older relatives to sell land so they can emigrate. Some husbands want to honor the promise of taking their wives abroad, but either unforeseen events or strict visa rules prevent them from doing so. However, activists and experts describe a more troubling pattern, one that was also seen in interviews with 12 women.
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2023-06-13 04:01:15
Source from www.nytimes.com
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