“ I am a resident of Hathiya village. I was born there and have spent my entire life there. I have three brothers and a sister. As compared with the other families living in the village, our family was affluent. My childhood and adolescence was spent in playing with friends, getting up to mischief and teasing and harassing girls. I hated attending school and would very often bunk classes. If my parents forced me to go to school, I would burn my books and uniform in protest right in the courtyard of my home. My mother did not know how to handle my tantrums. I would also run away from school to spend time at a place where girls were given employment on a daily basis. One day, I managed to persuade a young girl to run away with me. But within six months, I realized that I could not support her financially. We returned to the village. I fell into old habits and used to waste all my time wandering around with friends. One day, these friends pushed me to fall into line with their plan of robbing homes. We were inebriated on the day we planned to break into homes and I stabbed a young man who I thought was challenging us. I was arrested and spent six months in jail. After I was released, I took up some work but my lifestyle did not change. I continued to harass everyone at home. I used to beat my wife mercilessly and no one would interfere for fear of being rebuffed or attacked. I would not allow her to step out of the house or talk to strangers. I used to drink rather heavily too. It was around this time that I came in touch with the campaign and began to see how my behaviour impacted the lives of others around me. Today, I am a reformed person. I am no longer violent towards my wife. I even talk to members of my community and persuade them to respect women and ensure violence-free homes for women. By doing this I hope to heal myself and secure the future of women”