“I am Jayalakshmi. I live with my two children in the village of Karuvelnayakanpatti of Theni district, Tamil Nadu. I have become aware of what constitutes violence against women after I became associated with the campaign. It was then I became aware that I was being abused in my own home by my husband and that such behaviour was wrong. My husband used to beat me every day and throw me out of the house. I used to accept it meekly. But I began to stand up to him after I became part of the campaign. When I realised that he was not willing to mend his ways even after trying to reason with him, I separated from him. I took my children and went to my mother’s place. I began to actively involve myself in the campaign and strangely my husband has come around and has realised the folly of his ways. We now live together amicably and he encourages my participation in ‘We Can’.”