Home About Services Campaigns Advocates Fellows Blogs Resources

A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service "Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities." Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia. For more 2011 feedback click here.

Translate this page:

Partner Campaigns > Women's Repro... > Women at Risk > Violence Against ... > Padma Kumari

Padma Kumari

Because of her prolapsed uterus, Padma experiences sharp pain during sex. Her husband, however, does not believe that she is telling the truth. For 13 years he has ignored her pleas, and Padma has become a victim of marital rape.

Padma first experienced uterine prolapse six months after the birth of her first child, when she was only 14 years old. Initially she travelled to a mission hospital in India, where she was able to receive a pessary ring to treat her early-stage prolapse. She had the ring changed at the hospital twice, but after that she removed the ring herself.

As the wife of a day laborer and an occasional day laborer herself, she could not afford the transportation or time costs of going to the hospital in India – the nearest facility that could provide prolapse services.

After removing her pessary ring herself, Padma spent the next 13 years trying to ignore her symptoms. Heavy work was difficult and caused her severe back pain, but her husband told her he would not help. After the birth of her subsequent children, Padma was back to work within 10 days, because her husband refused to assist her with anything other than cooking.

Then, Padma’s prolapse suddenly became worse. She began to suffer from fever and exhaustion, and she had so much discharge that her sari (wrapped several times around her waist) was visibly stained in the rear. She could not hide the signs of her condition, and as the neighbors began to talk about her health, she found that no one would hire her for day labor, making it harder for her to maintain a productive role in the household.

Padma’s husband has protested that he has no money to spend on any kind of treatment. Female community health volunteers told him that if he didn’t make the investment now, his wife would soon be in much pain that she wouldn’t be able to do any work, and the family finances would truly suffer. He didn’t seem convinced by the concept of a preventive investment.

Faced with a husband who continually rapes her and who will not spend the money necessary for treatment, the future does not look hopeful for Padma.

Back