Manjit Singh, the Station House Officer at the NRI (non-resident Indian) police Station, poses for a photograph as Sarabjeet waits for a victim (not pictured), who had come to lodge a complaint against her NRI husband, who she says has abandoned her, in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Amritpal Kaur (left) looks at Reena Mehla (right) while she cries remembering her husband, who she says abandoned her and left for the U.S. after a few years of marriage, at lodgings where both Kaur and Mehla live in Chandigarh, Punjab, India, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Amritpal Kaur (left) and Reena Mehla (right) work together at a desk in the regional passport office in Chandigarh, Punjab, India, March 28, 2019. Both Kaur and Mehla say their NRI (non-resident Indian) husbands have abandoned them. Mehla knows she’s defying traditions back home, where married women don’t leave the house without male relatives or have a separate identity. "Even our soul is not allowed, because a husband is everything. A husband is like God," she says. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
A man, woman and child ride past on a motorbike in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Palwinder Kaur (left) and Satwinder Kaur (right) speak to a woman who says she has been abandoned by her husband, in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
A closeup of the dress that Baljit Kaur rented for her wedding is shown in Rajpura, Punjab, India, March 26, 2019. "We are like dead bodies walking. We have no place in society. We can?t live and we can?t even die," said Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Baljit Kaur's police uniform is laid out on her bed at her staff quarters, where she works as an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) for Punjab Police in Fatehgarh Sahib, Sirhind, Punjab, India, March 25, 2019. "I never imagined a woman of my age would end up like this," said Kaur who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her. "I thought my life would be different." REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Sarbjeet Kaur threads the eyebrows of a customer at her house in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Ekampreet, 10, gets ready to go to school at her house in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Palwinder Kaur, who says her husband has abandoned her, shows a picture of her husband on her mobile phone in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Ekampreet, 10, laughs with her mother Sarbjeet Kaur at their house in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, March 24, 2019. Kaur and her daughter live at their in-laws house after the court granted permission for them to stay there. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Baljit Kaur, 43, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, sits next to her mother on a bed on the verandah at her Mother's house in the village Khara, Punjab, India, March 24, 2019. "We are like dead bodies walking. We have no place in society. We can?t live and we can?t even die," said Kaur, who works as an assistant sub inspector for the Punjab police. Kaur's mother passed away in May 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, speaks to her cousin who works as a typist outside Jagraon's court house, before a hearing in Jagraon, Punjab, India, April 22, 2019. .
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, speaks on the phone as she sits with her family in the courtyard of her house in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, April 21, 2019. Kaur says her neighbours and even relatives call her banj, or "rotten womb,". "In my own house, I was called that." she said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, shows photos from her wedding album at her house in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, March 9, 2019. Kaur says her neighbours and even relatives call her banj, or "rotten womb,". "In my own house, I was called that," she said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, talks on her mobile phone inside a cab, while heading to Nawanshahr from Toosa, south of Ludhiana in Punjab, India, March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Baljit Kaur who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, reads a holy scripture at a Gurudwara (a Sikh place of worship) in Fatehgarh Sahib, Sirhind, Punjab, India, March 25, 2019. "I never imagined a woman of my age would end up like this," says Kaur who works as an assistant sub inspector for the Punjab police. "I thought my life would be different,". REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur speaks to a woman who visited Kaur to ask for advice on a personal issue, at her house in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis.
Women, who say they have been abandoned by NRI (non-resident Indian) husbands, take part in an organised protest in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Ekampreet gives rose petals to her mother Sarbjeet Kaur at Kaur's parent's house in Mukerian, Punjab, India, March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Amritpal Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, watches a sitcom on her mobile phone before going to sleep in her lodging in Chandigarh, Punjab, India, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Neelam, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, reacts at an organised protest in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, reads messages on her phone at her house in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, April 21, 2019. Kaur says her neighbours and even relatives call her banj, or "rotten womb,". "In my own house, I was called that." she said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur bids goodbye to her father who leaves for a short trip at her house in the village of Toosa, south of Ludhiana, Punjab, India, March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, talks on the phone as she travels to a court hearing in Jagraon, Punjab, India, April 22, 2019. Kaur says her neighbours and even relatives call her banj, or "rotten womb,". "In my own house, I was called that." she said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Satwinder Kaur, who says her NRI (non-resident Indian) husband abandoned her, reacts during a court hearing after a judge postponed the trial, as her in-laws got a stay order over the warrant of possession of the house, in the lower court at Jagraon, Punjab, India, April 22, 2019. Kaur says her neighbours and even relatives call her banj, or "rotten womb,". "In my own house, I was called that." she said. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Sarbjeet Kaur's mother gives money to Kaur to pay for her daughter Ekampreet's school fees at their house in Mukerian, Punjab, India, March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
The runaway husbands of India