In a room with green walls, printed curtains on narrow windows and plastic flowers sitting atop a showcase made of laminated plywood sits Aafia sewing the hem of a sari. Two children – a girl and a boy – are in school. Her husband of 10 years has his own garage which repairs cars and two-wheelers. Aafia is estranged from her parents who live half a kilometre away in another locality. Two years ago, Aafia had asked her father for details about the family’s properties. She had also asked him to hand her some part of the share which would enable her to enrol for a make-up and personality development course. That was two years ago.