Aaravi is 17 years old and lives in Mumbai, India. She does not attended school and spends most of her time doing household chores, or working with her mother. Her mother is also uneducated and makes a living by weaving baskets. Aaravi dreams of becoming a Speech Pathologist, but knows that without an education this will not happen. The discrimination of Aaravi started just before she was born. Her father was not happy when they found out Aaravi was a girl. Aaravi's father encouraged her mother to get an abortion, but she refused. Her mother was then forced to pay 10,000 dowries in order to keep her.
The discrimination became worse as Aaravi grew up. She had two older brothers Issac, and Josiah. They were often given better clothes, more food, and were allowed to go to school. She began working with her mother at the age of 10. She often asked her mother why she was not able to go to school like her brothers and her mother simply replied "That's just how life is here honey, we cant change the fact that we don't have a voice" As she grew older Aaravi began to become close friends with many other girls in the city who also worked with their mothers. The often talked about boyfriends, clothes and shoes... but never talked about the discrimination that was obvious when they all went out together.
One Saturday night on May 10, Aaravi and her friend Mekani went out late to catch a movie. They knew people would stare because women never came out that late, but they didn't care. After the movie they decided to catch the bus home. They both agreed that they would be calm and try not to draw anymore attention to themselves. When they got on the bus the two girls went to the back of the bus (The section that was designated for women) Aaravi and Mekani where the only 2 girls on a bus with 5 other men. When the 5 men surrounded them, they knew something bad was going to happen. Aravai and her friend were dragged to the back of the bus and were beaten severely and raped with an iron pole and thrown out of the bus and left to die on the side of the street.
After being hospitalized for 18 days, Aaravi died from injuries associated from the rape. At her funeral her mother cried and cried but her father said nothing. After her funeral the men on the bus were not tried nor put in jail. They used the excuse that the girls shouldn't have been out that late.
The discrimination became worse as Aaravi grew up. She had two older brothers Issac, and Josiah. They were often given better clothes, more food, and were allowed to go to school. She began working with her mother at the age of 10. She often asked her mother why she was not able to go to school like her brothers and her mother simply replied "That's just how life is here honey, we cant change the fact that we don't have a voice" As she grew older Aaravi began to become close friends with many other girls in the city who also worked with their mothers. The often talked about boyfriends, clothes and shoes... but never talked about the discrimination that was obvious when they all went out together.
One Saturday night on May 10, Aaravi and her friend Mekani went out late to catch a movie. They knew people would stare because women never came out that late, but they didn't care. After the movie they decided to catch the bus home. They both agreed that they would be calm and try not to draw anymore attention to themselves. When they got on the bus the two girls went to the back of the bus (The section that was designated for women) Aaravi and Mekani where the only 2 girls on a bus with 5 other men. When the 5 men surrounded them, they knew something bad was going to happen. Aravai and her friend were dragged to the back of the bus and were beaten severely and raped with an iron pole and thrown out of the bus and left to die on the side of the street.
After being hospitalized for 18 days, Aaravi died from injuries associated from the rape. At her funeral her mother cried and cried but her father said nothing. After her funeral the men on the bus were not tried nor put in jail. They used the excuse that the girls shouldn't have been out that late.