NAHARLAGUN, Aug 3: A woman was rescued from an abusive marriage and united with her children through the intervention of the Arunachal Women Helpline (WHL) 181.
The woman, Nomita (name changed), had been manipulated by a person named Gotom into marrying him. She trusted him and agreed to marry him in hopes of living a better life as she was working as a maid since her childhood.
Immediately after marriage, however, her husband started subjecting her to verbal and physical abuse. Gotom was addicted to drugs and alcohol, spent all of his money on gambling, and never took care of his three children.
One day he beat up Nomita black and blue and drove her out of the house, telling her not to return. Nomita was compelled to stay at her friend’s home for a week. She then decided to end her relationship with Gotom, and approached the WHL 181’s office.
After analyzing her situation, the WHL team referred her case to the one-stop centre, which, in view of
the nature of the case, referred Nomita to a short-stay home, and offered her counselling.
After receiving counselling, Nomita decided to file for divorce from her husband, and pled for custody of her children.
Her case was forwarded to the legal aid clinic, and the case was taken up by advocate Jaya Doji. After several hearings, Nomita finally received justice from the court in Yupia.
The legal aid clinic provides free legal assistance to those whose annual income is below Rs 1 lakh.