She had a very sweet voice on the phone. We agreed to meet the next day for a coffee. I was looking forward to the meeting. As we picked up our coffee and sat down to chat, I found that in person, she was as sweet as she sounded on the phone. But when I heard her story, I realized, how sweet people are often taken advantage of.
This is another story of a very simple girl next door. Doted on by her parents and raised to believe that she was equal in every aspect to the boy next door. Be it what she wore, how she spoke, how she was treated by friends and family, what education she got, what freedom was given to move around with her own friends etc. And yet, as she grows the equation begins to change. Marriage was on the minds of the parents. Especially, since Dad was ill. He only wanted her to have a partner to share her life with. Was concerned that he would not have enough time to see her settle down and happy. And as is normal in India, found a suitable boy for her and got her married.
The boy, unfortunately, was everything but suitable. She was running her fathers business, while he was unemployed. Drinking and abusing was a problem. His family wanted dowry and money. She didn’t ponder too much over these issues. She was educated and independent and thought time would change the person. They had two children. But things went from bad to worse. As the kids were growing up, she found the abusing intolerable. That is not the kind of environment she wanted to raise her children in. She then did the best thing possible in the circumstance. She packed her bags and left.
Life wasn’t easy after that too. A single woman is an easy target. It took a lot of courage to not only move cities and get a job, but to earn respect at work place. People who are responsible for the well-being of their employees, asked for favors. She moved jobs just to extricate herself from these situations. Last but not the least, being a single mother had its own challenges.
She has come away from all that pain now with her sweetness intact. But many questions go unanswered. What is an upbringing with equal opportunity? If we can’t trust the people who make the most important decisions in our lives, whom do we trust? What support is available for women who are unable to rely on their families?
At Her-mony we are committed to ensuring that the special financial needs of single women are not over-looked. We work with our clients to raise awareness of their financial planning needs and to help them make sound decisions that resonate with their principles, values and dreams as well as those of their heirs. Financial Security for women is a necessity in today’s world. It doesn’t matter what their age, or marital status, or professional status is.
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