For a poor woman like Putali Begum in a cruel city like Dhaka, sometimes the only way to stay alive is to sell one's child.

Putali says she almost became insane with a cocktail of grief, regret and pain after selling her one-and-a-half-year old son Shuvo two years ago out of sheer desperation for survival.

Four years ago, Putali's heroin addicted husband was jailed, leaving the homeless woman with two young children to provide for all by herself. Barely scraping by, Putali says that she was approached by a police officer who told her that he would be the middleman in the deal to buy Putali's son.

The officer calculated that the figure of Tk. 8,000 would allow Putali to free her husband from prison, and the desperately helpless woman agreed to the sum. She admits that releasing her husband was not her only motive and that she just could not manage to care for two children alone.

Nonetheless, after the transaction was completed, Putali almost fell apart in the face of what she had done even though, as promised, she was able to secure her husband’s freedom.

Two years later, Putali can still be seen roaming in the park. The birth of two more children since has believably eased her pain, but she is not above admitting that even to this day, she is still visited by the guilt of selling her beloved Shuvo.