Destitute Women in Kerala: Psychological resources and psycho ...

y her parents as they did not have a home of their own. They thought that Jayakumari
would be safer at the Mahila Mandir than in any other place, of relatives or friends.
Khadeeja (23 years) and Radhika (17 years) are girls who had been in the BalaMandirs
(care home for children) and convents ever since they were small children. They could not
recollect anything about their families or parents. They spent their childhood in the company
of other orphans at the BalaMandir. It was from the BalaMandir that they were brought to
the Mahila Mandir. Radhika had stayed in a convent and it was the sisters of the Convent
who brought her to the Mahila Mandir and left her there “for a short time”. Now she has got
some training in handicrafts. “I wish the Convent sisters come and rescue me from here. I
wish to get a job outside the institution”, says Radhika. Khadeeja also mourns over not
getting a job. “I am thankful to the authorities as well as the government for providing me all
the essentials. In spite of all these, I feel unhappy and frustrated because I do not have a job
here. I sit idle all the time.” Khadeeja had seen her mother once in her lifetime. She says that
no one has ever come to visit her. She thinks that she does not have anybody in the world to
call her own, “Mahila Mandir is my home. I lived here, I am living here, and I will die here,”
Khadeeja says mournfully.
Elsamma is also of the same opinion. Both her mother and father are alive. “My father is a
drunkard. He drinks everyday with the money he earns. He comes home late and tortures my
mother. My mother, in turn, tortures me”.
Jyothi (26) does not remember anything about her family. She has only the memories of the
Bala Mandir where she grew up as a child. When she was 15 years old, she was sent to the
Mahila Mandir “I do not like to be treated as an orphan. So I go to all the homes in the
neighbourhood. I have many friends and I go to their homes also. These are against the rules
and regulations of the Mahila Mandir. But, I continue doing such things. I do not know
why.” When asked whether she was not afraid of punishment, she replied that she was
ready to take any punishment. She was sure, however, that she would not be sent out of the
place because she had no other place to go. The words of Jyothi were the external manifestation
of her internal emotional state. Her words were filled with hatred and vengeance to those
who made her destitute as well as to the persons in authority of the Mahila Mandir. It
seemed that she enjoyed herself by creating problems for others.
Mariamma, a girl of 14, looked small for her age and is pale and thin. “My mother was an
inmate of the Mahila Mandir. She was married off from the Mahila Mandir itself. When
she became pregnant, she was sent back to the Mahila Mandir where she gave birth to me,”
said Mariamma. Born and brought up at the Mahila Mandir itself, she has not seen the world
outside. Mariamma says: “My father is in Tamil Nadu and my mother is a maidservant. One
day we will have a house and we will live together”. The 14-year-old girl spends her days
with this hope.
Indira, a girl who is just 18 years old, lives in the Mahila Mandir because she does not have
a house. She has a mother who works as a housemaid. “She comes to see me often. The
Mahila Mandir authorities are sending me to school. Along with my studies, I work in a
private firm. I give my salary to my mother. I will live with my mother when we will have a
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