i am an indian woman and this is my story. my day starts very early in the morning because oh, women sleeping more than 4 hours a day is a curse and she's a spoiled woman. sometimes, when i sleep half an hour extra, my husband and mother in law abuse me verbally. my mother in law burns my hand on stove sometimes when i put a little less salt or a little less turmeric powder in the curry. i wake up and clean the big house of this joint family by sweeping and mopping it. there are over a dozen kids here because my husband has over a dozen siblings half of which live here. i am the only adult woman in this house except my sisters in law and mother in law ofcourse because i am the official maid who also came with a hefty dowry. i clean the house and cook over 7 dishes thrice a day spending over 7 hours because everybody here has different demands and it's my duty to satisfy everyone's needs. washing the utensils is worse which takes me around 4 hours everyday. the rest of my time is spent on washing clothes and breastfeeding my babies and feeding my toddlers. i hardly get time to eat and well, i am not allowed to eat more than once a day because that's among the rules my mother in law has set for me which i must follow obediently. sometimes my husband threatens me to get out of his house if i fail to abide by the rules of this house even by an ounce. being a prisoner in a jail seems way better than the horrible life i live right now. i cry all day and night, mostly in the kitchen. waiting for my death. i am an indian woman and this is my story.