Two Women in Uttar Pradesh Leave Abusive Husbands, Marry Each Other

Kavita and Gunja, who connected on Instagram, performed a marriage ceremony at a temple in Deoria after enduring years of domestic violence.

Kavita and Gunja, two women from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, left their abusive, alcoholic husbands and married each other in a self-conducted ceremony at the Shiva Temple in Deoria.
The women met on Instagram and built a friendship over shared experiences of domestic violence and harassment by their spouses.
Gunja assumed the role of the groom during the ceremony, applying sindoor to Kavita's forehead, exchanging garlands, and completing the traditional seven pheras.
Both women expressed determination to live together as a couple in Gorakhpur, planning to rent a room and work to sustain themselves despite the legal status of same-sex marriage in India.
The temple priest confirmed that the women quietly performed the rituals themselves, purchasing garlands and sindoor for the ceremony.