C1109

 

For the past five weeks, Dera has been entrusted with the crucial responsibility of overseeing C1109. The document pertains to the rehabilitation of a young girl who has been struggling with various challenges. Despite Dera's consistent efforts, the progress of the girl's rehabilitation has been painfully slow. Nevertheless, during Dera's most recent visit, she was pleasantly surprised to find the young girl appearing calm and composed. This unexpected change in behavior seems to have caught Dera off guard and she is cautiously optimistic about the progress of the girl's rehabilitation. Despite being accused of a crime, she seemed like a regular person, and no one could have guessed her predicament by her demeanor.

On a night that seemed ominous, the sky was dark and the weather was tumultuous with clouds hovering low. It was the time of the month when C1109 anticipated getting her period, and she felt a sense of urgency as she frantically rushed to the village gate. She knew that she needed to reach the makeshift period house quickly, which was located just outside the village. Despite the darkness and the stormy weather, she pressed on, determined to reach her destination and seek the privacy and safety that the period house would provide.. She had been visiting the period house since the tender age of nine, and many women in the village envied her mother, believing that her daughter's early fertility would bring in good luck and money.

Despite being only thirteen, C1109 was a great child, but unfortunately, she was caught in the middle of an unfortunate situation. It was unfair to expect her to behave differently given her young age and circumstances.

She sat right on a pot which contained the residue of another girl's blood, from the previous month. Hesitantly, she shifts her body into a more comfortable position and reclines. Despite her mother's repeated attempts to reach her, she remains silent, knowing that she has likely started her period and is now confined to the period house. It's a small, cramped space that provides little beyond the bare essentials of food and other necessities.

In the village, there was a sanitary pad company that had a good number of vendors. However, due to financial constraints, the vendors were unable to afford the sanitary pads themselves. This was a difficult situation for them, as they had to rely on alternative methods during their menstrual cycle. One of the vendors, C1109, had to resort to sitting on a pot for three days every month without taking proper breaks. This not only affected her productivity but also posed a significant risk to her health and hygiene. The lack of access to sanitary pads was a major concern for many women in the village.

Her period had ceased, it was 11 pm but, she couldn’t stay a minute longer, the stench from the used pots was lethal and she could pass out from inhaling any further. Right about the corner leading to the home, a young, sturdy, and fierce lout, one who wouldn’t get a job, pounced on poor C1109 and raped her. Brave girl, she did not lie away for long, she picks up a nearby broken piece of schnapps bottle and sends it right through his heart.

The village wants her prosecuted for murder even when they’re aware she is only a child and was raped but, of what use? She had become mentally unstable, she acted obscenely, gave sudden cursory gazes, spoke to herself, and Pierced her own body with objects. Dera can never get enough of C1109’s story, it touches her all over again but, there’s only a little she can do, it doesn’t seem like C1109 will recover from the trauma, even her period had ceased and no, she wasn’t pregnant.