Gangaben’s story is incomplete without the story of her intrepid 22-year-old brother, Hirji Bhai Gothi. Married along with Gangaben to her husband’s sister, he decided to officially separate from his wife even before living with her after seeing her brother’s brutal behaviour. It was he who convinced his parents to oppose conventions and stand by their daughter instead. He also vehemently opposed the traditional practice of Satha marriage that violates women’s rights and forces them with the weight of tradition to stay within violent marriages. He even managed to break down the reservations of a traditional and rigid jati panchayat on this issue. These were not easy things to do in a traditional society like his. It required a lot of courage and perseverance. But Hirji Bhai Gothi showed that it is possible to challenge community attitudes if one’s convictions are strong enough.

Today Hirji Bhai works in a photo shop in Mumbai. He may be a self-effacing person but he most certainly has been a powerful agent of change. He has single handedly confronted prevailing community attitudes and, more importantly, given his sister Gangaben the courage to say ‘no’ to violence.