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Society
Dirt Poor But Defiant, These Women Dump Tradition
by Shuriah Niazi
Rehana, 42,
of Tarana village in Ujjain district, was married at the age of 14. Like
other girls she too had dreamt of a happy life after marriage. But on
moving into her marital home, the young bride found that she was
considered amongst the lowest of the low in the community and was even
excluded from public activities and social festivities. By marrying
Arshad, Rehana had become a Haila - the traditional carrier of
night soil.
Much to her disgust, Rehana was forced by her mother-in-law and husband
to take up the occupation. Every morning she had to visit the allotted
homes to clean up dry latrines with the help of a broom and tin plate
and carry away the night soil on a wicker basket placed on her head. She
would then dispose the waste at a specified area some distance away. Her
payment from each house was one 'roti' (flat bread) a day and some
money. "I did not like all this. People did not treat us on equal terms
and didn't talk to us with respect. But we were forced to do this work
in order to make both ends meet."
Owing to the rigid caste-based social structure, the Muslim Haila
community in Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) is treated like 'untouchables',
subjected to inhuman treatment and exclusion from public participation.
Officially, they belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category.
They are also deprived of access to most public resources and live like
outcastes.
The Haila community continues to suffer these indignities despite the
fact that the degrading practice of cleaning dry latrines and
transporting human excreta manually has been officially banned since
1993. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry
Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, makes the employment of scavengers or
the construction of dry latrines that are not connected to a drainage
system a punishable offence.
Yet, in several parts of M.P., the practice continues to this day and,
unfortunately, over 90 per cent of those who work as night soil carriers
are women. The men either work as sanitation workers with the Nagar
Panchayat or as laborers. Most of the women are illiterate. According to
Asif, who works among the Haila community, the literacy rate within the
community would be around five per cent to 10 per cent. The women earn
anywhere between Rs 5 to Rs 7 per house a day, along with the one 'roti'.
There are around 1,200 Haila families in the state, mostly in Ujjain,
Dharm Shahdole, Dewas and Khandwa. Although there is no caste system in
Islam, the Haila Muslims are victims of caste-based discrimination
common to other communities of the area. But it is the Haila women who
suffer the most. Doubly discriminated because of their gender and low
social status, they sometimes even have to face sexual harassment.
But change is in the air. These women are beginning to protest,
revealing in the process a determination and courage that lay hidden
during all these years of repression.
Rehana was the first to raise her voice against the offensive occupation
and made up her mind to give it up. "My daughter would always tell me to
quit this work. Although people did not approve of my decision, my
daughter kept encouraging me and I decided to walk out of my
mother-in-law's home," she says.
In the beginning, she had to face the wrath of her community. But Rehana
remained steadfast. Eventually the critics came around and even her
husband, Arhshad, joined his wife in her new home. Today, Rehana earns a
living by sewing clothes.
Defying social pressure and an age-old social practice was not easy,
admits a victorious Rehana today. But it has all been worth it. Life has
changed completely, and she does not now face the humiliation and
discrimination that was once her lot. "My daughter got married recently.
A large number of people attended the marriage ceremony. Hardly anyone
would have come to my home had I continued with the old work."
Rehana now encourages other women of her community to seek better
sources of livelihood. "The honour of a person is most important. You
gain nothing in this work. It is better to give it up," reasons this
torchbearer.
Taslim, of Kaytha village, who is around 40, understands the
tribulations that Rehana has endured. A prisoner of societal and
familial pressure, Taslim was forced to continue being a manual
scavenger. Her family threatened to throw her out of the house if she
dared desist. "If you do any other work you will have to work in the
company of men. Women of our community carry night soil and stay at
home. We shall leave you if you refuse. Don't play with our honour,"
threatened her family members.
But Taslim found support in Garima Abhiyan, a social organization
working with people who carry night soil. Members of Garima Abhiyan
first tried to persuade her family to opt for another profession. When
their counseling efforts fell on deaf ears, they explained to Taslim
that no one could force her to do this work if she didn't want to do it.
A determined Taslim then turned her back on the family occupation and
gradually her relatives learnt to appreciate her decision. "We feel that
life is much better than before. We can live freely with respect," says
Taslim, now the district convenor of the Garima Abhiyan in Ujjain.
Ali Hussain, 29, who hails from a practicing Haila family, explains, "It
is not an easy task to persuade the women to give up this custom. There
is so much social pressure on them."
But women like Rehana and Taslim have scripted a new story, and have
courageously fought for their social and economic empowerment.
Encouraging them to raise their voice against discrimination are people
like Bhopal Nayab (Additional) Qazi Amirullah Khan. He says, "In Islam
there is no place for discrimination on the basis of caste or work.
There is need for the local 'maulvis' (clerics) to come forward and
teach people correctly about the basic principles of Islam."
Of course, there are some initiatives by the government as well. There's
The Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers that
was launched last year. Its object is to assist scavengers and
rehabilitate them in alternative occupations/trades in a time bound
manner by March 2009.
Recently, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar
urged Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and
Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja
to ensure that all dry latrines in rural areas are converted into water
seal latrines by March 2009.
The elimination of dry latrines is central to ending manual scavenging
but the courage and initiative of women like Rehana and Taslim also goes
a long way.
July 13,
2008
By arrangement with
WFS
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