Advancing public discourse on gender-based violence in South Asia
India – Himal Southasian: Expanding Investigational Repertoire
Himal Southasian is an independent online review magazine covering the whole of Southasia, with a focus on in-depth reporting, reviews and analysis. Himal is registered as a non-profit company, supported primarily by international philanthropic grants plus small but growing reader revenues via a membership programme. The magazine is registered in Sri Lanka, with all administrative operations based in Colombo, and is run by a remote editorial team based across the Southasia region. The magazine is free of any governmental, political or commercial ownership or influence, and follows a rigorous editorial process hewing to global standards of journalistic ethics and independence.
- India
- Himal Southasian
- 2025
- India
- Himal Southasian
- 2025
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> The Story
‘The Woman in the Bathroom’, a 7000-word Himal investigation, unravels the harrowing ordeal of Ramrati, a woman from the Indian state of Haryana who was locked in a tiny bathroom by her husband for two years amid claims of her “madness”, and who eventually went back to his house even after being dramatically rescued by authorities. The journalist Romita Saluja’s meticulous reporting brings to light new details of Ramrati’s confinement and its aftermath, exposing India’s dysfunctional legal and bureaucratic systems for handling cases of domestic abuse.
Through Ramrati’s story, ‘The Woman in the Bathroom’ delves deep into women’s lives in rural India amid societal, economic and institutional pressures that leave them highly vulnerable to abuse. Saluja uncovers systemic failures: overburdened protection officers, all-women police stations that prioritise reconciliation with abusers, and skewed conviction rates. In the process, she also exposes how mental health misdiagnoses are often weaponised against women.
Interviews with Ramrati’s rescuers, family, doctors and neighbours reveal how abuse is enabled, while Saluja’s reporting, navigating village distrust and her husband’s denials, amplifies Ramrati’s silenced voice.
This was a vital exposé on domestic abuse and structural impunity in India, urging accountability for gender-based violence.
This long-form investigative article uncovers the harrowing two-year confinement of Ramrati, a woman in rural Haryana, India, who was locked in a tiny bathroom by her husband. By revealing a detailed picture of not just Ramrati’s forced confinement but also of the lead-up to it and the aftermath of her dramatic rescue, it goes beyond the headlines to highlight systemic failures in addressing domestic violence in India.
Romita Saluja’s reporting demonstrates outstanding depth. Saluja stayed with the story for over four years, and made multiple visits to Rishpur village to visit and interview Ramrati and her family. She also spoke to state officials, neighbours, doctors and activists involved in Ramrati’s case. The narrative exposes how Ramrati’s perceived mental health issues, which were potentially trauma-induced, were used to justify extreme abuse, including beatings and isolation, while neighbours remained silent due to fear and societal norms. It also highlights broader issues such as India’s low reporting rates for domestic violence and institutional gaps in addressing domestic abuse – issues that are common across much of South Asia and also the Asia Pacific.
This work serves the public interest by illuminating structural failures in India’s laws and response mechanisms when it comes to domestic violence. Saluja’s ethical approach to reporting respects Ramrati’s vulnerability, avoids sensationalism, and critiques how sexism and stigma around mental health enable abuse. It has the potential to raise awareness of these problems and to spur policy reforms – for instance, increased and improved shelter access for survivors of domestic abuse.
This article advances public discourse on gender-based violence in South Asia and the Asia Pacific region by holding to account a failing system that spans police practices, legal provisions, patriarchal social norms and more.
