Rajni was in deep distress. Her husband and in-laws shunned her. Her father and brother had rebuked her. The villagers approved of the jati panchayat’s decision to punish her because they agreed that she had brought shame to her family.
Rajni’s fault was that she had dared to restrain her brother-in-law’s hand when he was beating her. Her brother-in-law felt humiliated. He could not believe that a woman of his house would resist him. He had only been punishing her for her misconduct, he felt.
He. . .
