The Sad Side of School

The PUC results were out yesterdy and the newspapers were filled with stories of the toppers and their backgrounds. The successes of the lower income students were highlighted with pride. Today's newspapers reflect the grim side of the school system in India. Nine students in Karnataka committed suicide after finding out they failed some of their subjects. It's disheartening to read these stories, I don't want to see their faces or read their stories and yet I do. Noone discusses what the state or country is going to do about preventing these tragedies, it's almost as if it's an accepted part of life. Are the schools or parents putting so much pressure on the students that they feel there is no other option?  Suicide is so prevalent in India and it doesn't seem to be related to a long history of depression but more of an "accepted" out when things don't go as planned especially when related to school.  Maybe I'm wrong and the suicide rate is the same as anywhere else but  I suspect there is a cultural element that needs to be changed.

Yellama's sister

My maid's younger sister has a violent husband that has been abusing her for many years. She has left him and stays with her family but he asks her to come back promising that he'll no longer hurt her. When she does go back, he goes back to his old ways and threatens her and their two children. He has no job and essentially borrows money or scares people into giving him money to support the family and feed his drinking habit. He has borrowed money in the past claiming he'll buy an auto but the money has just disappeared. He doesn't let her out of the house claiming that she will cheat on him so keeps her locked up in a small room with no bathroom. He hurts the children, their two year old son has a skin pigmentation issue and he has now disowned him saying he's not his child. She is very young barely twenty, very sweet looking with two cute children. It's heart breaking to hear her story, her options are very limited. He has been in jail before but his gunda friends break him out after a couple of days. They tried finding a lawyer and initiating a divorce but he's not agreeing to it and is threatening her. I suggested to Yellama that her sister go to a shelter. They don't know where to start and didn't know that such a place exists. I found a counseling center called Vimochana that helps victims of domestic violence through the sawnet website. They asked that Yellama's sister come to the center so they can understand her situation and suggest options, they have a shelter outside of Bangalore. The main issue here is that even if she were to go to a shelter, her husband will torture her family until they tell him where she is. Yellama says he is capable of murder and has threatened to kill her sister multiple times so she wants something to be done about him first. I feel somewhat helpless as this is not an easy situation to get out of. The first step is to get her to the center as they have more experience and have probably dealt with this situation multiple times. Hopefully, she can be helped.