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I was born and raised in Delhi and immigrated to US 18 years ago after my husband was killed on the
spot in a car accident. Being a young widow (35 years), I was an easy prey to sexual advances of males
around me. Mine was an inter-caste, inter-faith love marriage and his family disowned me and their
granddaughters aged nine and two years after his death. They have not spoken to me after his death.
My husband and I were together for almost 19 years. I chose to come here after my husband’s brothers
tried to kidnap my elder daughter to grab his business. I remarried before coming to US, though became
homeless five months after arriving here, as my second husband was abusive and made death threats
towards me and my daughters. I had no family or friends in this foreign land and depended on the
kindness of strangers at domestic violence agencies who assisted us with housing in shelters for almost
three years and helped me get food from food banks.
Fast forward to present: I went back to college to obtain a second Master’s Degree in California in
Counselling. My first Master’s Degree is from University of Delhi in Clinical Psychology. Currently, I am
working as a Mental Health Clinician in a psychiatric hospital. Having personally experienced
significant life events that have challenged my well-being, I can empathise with others’ stress and other
issues that affect mental health.
I also volunteer at domestic violence agencies to empower women about spousal violence and sex
trafficking. I empower women by my example so that they can have hope and resilience and know that
they are stronger than they think in their darkest hour and circumstances. I pride myself on my
parenting skills since my girls are strong despite the hardships they have undergone. My daughters have
been my motivation to keep moving forward every day and empowering them to be self-reliant has been
my singular focus.
All these events were so significantly transformative for my older daughter that she has started a social
non-profit agency that supports young widows with daughters to be financially independent. My older
daughter graduated with double majors from University of California, Los Angeles on scholastic
scholarships. She is currently employed with a top corporation. My younger daughter is a National
Honor Roll student for getting the highest academic performance in middle and high schools for seven
years and is currently attending college.
My struggle as a young widow with two daughters, disowned, disinherited by her in-laws, remarriage,
spousal abuse, domestic violence, homelessness in a foreign country, women’s shelter, learning laws to
self-petition for Green Card to attend college and be employed and enrolling my daughters in
universities are testimony ki sab “Mumkin Hai”. The possibilities are endless. Society considered us
weak because we were females. We have all proven that we are strong because we prioritised education
to overcome our adversity. I write to you with sincere hope that sharing our story, our journey will
inspire and empower women.
-Mallika Negi Walsh (name not changed on request)
28
spot in a car accident. Being a young widow (35 years), I was an easy prey to sexual advances of males
around me. Mine was an inter-caste, inter-faith love marriage and his family disowned me and their
granddaughters aged nine and two years after his death. They have not spoken to me after his death.
My husband and I were together for almost 19 years. I chose to come here after my husband’s brothers
tried to kidnap my elder daughter to grab his business. I remarried before coming to US, though became
homeless five months after arriving here, as my second husband was abusive and made death threats
towards me and my daughters. I had no family or friends in this foreign land and depended on the
kindness of strangers at domestic violence agencies who assisted us with housing in shelters for almost
three years and helped me get food from food banks.
Fast forward to present: I went back to college to obtain a second Master’s Degree in California in
Counselling. My first Master’s Degree is from University of Delhi in Clinical Psychology. Currently, I am
working as a Mental Health Clinician in a psychiatric hospital. Having personally experienced
significant life events that have challenged my well-being, I can empathise with others’ stress and other
issues that affect mental health.
I also volunteer at domestic violence agencies to empower women about spousal violence and sex
trafficking. I empower women by my example so that they can have hope and resilience and know that
they are stronger than they think in their darkest hour and circumstances. I pride myself on my
parenting skills since my girls are strong despite the hardships they have undergone. My daughters have
been my motivation to keep moving forward every day and empowering them to be self-reliant has been
my singular focus.
All these events were so significantly transformative for my older daughter that she has started a social
non-profit agency that supports young widows with daughters to be financially independent. My older
daughter graduated with double majors from University of California, Los Angeles on scholastic
scholarships. She is currently employed with a top corporation. My younger daughter is a National
Honor Roll student for getting the highest academic performance in middle and high schools for seven
years and is currently attending college.
My struggle as a young widow with two daughters, disowned, disinherited by her in-laws, remarriage,
spousal abuse, domestic violence, homelessness in a foreign country, women’s shelter, learning laws to
self-petition for Green Card to attend college and be employed and enrolling my daughters in
universities are testimony ki sab “Mumkin Hai”. The possibilities are endless. Society considered us
weak because we were females. We have all proven that we are strong because we prioritised education
to overcome our adversity. I write to you with sincere hope that sharing our story, our journey will
inspire and empower women.
-Mallika Negi Walsh (name not changed on request)
28
