Ratna Devi, who lives in a shanty home alongside the Yamuna River in New Delhi, remembers vividly how she and her husband were brutally assaulted by her family because she had married a socially poor Dalit man.

The 33-year-old woman fell in love with the Dalit man in her home state of Haryana and married him discreetly because she knew her family would prevent her from doing so.

“For high-caste families, it is not only a crime but also a sin to marry someone of lower caste in India. I committed that sin and faced my family’s wrath,” Devi told ucanews.com.

The family attacked Devi and her husband with wooden sticks to save their honor. Only the timely intervention of police saved the couple from death. They later moved to New Delhi. “Life is good here. We have children and my husband has a decent job with a private firm,” Devi said.