The Internet is full of women empowerment stories of how women are excelling in all walks of life. But on very rare occasions we come across stories that truly inspire us and make us feel proud. And such is the story of a child marriage victim who became a single parent at 16. Although her husband abandoned her but she refused to succumb to the blows life was throwing at her. Like a phoenix rising from its tears, she reclaimed her life and how!She (name unrevealed) shared her story on an Instagram post of Humans of Bombay—a group that started as a project to retell the stories of Mumbai city's inhabitants. Her mother forced her to marry a 26-year-old man when she was just 16 and within four months she got pregnant. And then her life turned from bad to worse.“My in-laws wouldn’t let me study and treated me like a servant. Once, when I was 8 months pregnant, there was a theft at home. And my in-laws blamed me for that. They starved and tortured me till I had to beg for them to stop,” she wrote.Soon she got so sick that she had to return to her mother’s house. “I got so sick after that, I started vomiting blood. So, I packed my bags and went to my mom's house. My husband came along, to take care of me and our child.”But her husband didn’t stay with her for long. “Soon I gave birth. My husband was working as a driver but his income wasn’t enough. So, I took up a job as well. I was still a minor, so the only job I got was as a teacher’s assistant, with a pay of Rs. 2,000 per month. One day, suddenly, my husband said he wasn’t comfortable with me working. But I wanted to continue to earn for my child. So, he decided to move back with his parents and soon I got a letter saying that he remarried.”It was then she decided to concentrate on her education and arm herself with the much-needed qualification to build a career. “I was left alone with a 2-year-old child at the age of 18. I needed to earn more and I couldn’t do it without any qualifications. So, I decided to take my mom's help and finish my 12th grade. I continued to work to sustain the house. And when I finished 12th grade, I got a job at a media company.”But her lack of an educational degree stood as the biggest hurdle in her professional life. Having spent all her savings and her mother’s as well, she struggled to make both ends meet and the future of her son worried her to no end. This is when she received the much-needed help and that became her turning point. “One of those days, my boss asked me if I was okay? I couldn’t control myself and told her everything. She told me not to worry. And a few days later, she gave me Rs 15,000 and said, ‘This is yours, go for it and don’t ever look back’. That was my turning point. I finished my bachelors and got a great job as a project manager afterwards.”Today, she is 23 and is single-handedly raising her child and managing a home. “I am paying for my son’s education and saving up for his future. My husband refuses to give me a divorce, till I don’t give ‘his son’ back to him. He refuses to help us and even check on us. But I am okay with it. I have cried, stumbled and fallen but I’m standing on my own two feet now. My son and I love each other and we both know that we are enough for each other. It’s us against the world and if we have made it this far, we will make it to the end.”She is an inspiration for all, especially, girls who get married at a very young age and then succumb to the demands of her new family. We hope we have more women like her.