Trupti’s Life Story: “I Never Thought I Would Become a Widow”

Trupti is an illiterate, widowed mother of two daughters who supported her family by working in brothels in her 20s through mid-30s and as a transient sex worker in her 40s. Each phase of life presented different risks to her and her children’s survival and safety. Trupti was abused by her mother and faced stigma for being raised in a blended family. She escaped the situation by marrying a local thug in her mid-teens, had two children by age 18, and became a widow in her late 30s. She eventually earned enough money working in brothels to purchase property and take up a “respectable” life in farming in her natal village. After her husband died, she sold the land and returned to the sex trade to support her daughters. Although Trupti demonstrates resiliency in navigating these hardships, her story provides insights into the dangers that confront all Indian women who lack male protection. Widowhood in particular makes women susceptible to violence from their relatives and sexual exploitation in their workplaces. Nevertheless, by her mid-50s, Trupti had permanently exited the sex trade and was living comfortably with one of her married daughters and looking after her grandchildren.