HOOLIGANS AT HOME

 In the recent past India has seen the vandalism spread by the political groups of our country that call themselves as the “Samaj Sudharaks”. The activists related to these groups make their own laws and try to enforce them on the people of our “independent” country. These extremist groups reflect themselves as social and spiritual in their outline, responsible for cleaning the country of its social evils. The culture and traditions of India are unique but now this is the 21^st century, and the India of 21^st century is greeted by the cultures of East and the West at every baby step that it is taking towards becoming a Superpower. India is independent where its citizens have the liberty of making choices within the realms of laws. This India is the India of a Mahatma who preached non-violence and touched the hearts of millions of untouched, this is the India of Bhagat Singh who laid down his life at a tender age 23 to realize the dream of a unified India and this is the India of where millions fought against the British tyranny to achieve their freedom to make choices. But is it the reality now? Perhaps the clear answer would be a No.

And the culprits are the groups like the MNS, Shiv Sena, Ram Sene and many others that have robbed the people of their liberty to make choices by rioting every now and then in the name of God, religion, region and ethics just to grab headlines and claim their existence.  They are a disgrace to a secular and democratic country like ours. The Ram Sene as we all know went on ruckus in a pub in Mangalore where a lot of girls were partying. Its activists bungled up everything in the pub and misbehaved with the girls. This incident took place in broad daylight and was even captured on camera. The head of Ram Sene was arrested and soon was released on bail. The Home Minister of India Mr. P.Chidambaram termed Ram Sene as a “threat” to the country. The Thackeray Dynasty or the Shiv Sena attacked a Mumbai based hotel because the hotel management had sacked employees belonging to a certain section of society. In yet another bizarre incident in Nasik, the MNS activists attacked a Republic Day celebration function where Bhojpuri songs were being played. Their leaders and activists have been arrested on several occasions and then let loose by the inefficient system to create more such ugly incidents where the only one who suffers is the common man. This has resulted into the fearlessness of such extremist groups who have mocked and slapped the government tight on its face time and again.

It is the lack of accountability in our system that helps these hooligans evade punishment. The government needs to fix accountability at various levels of the system in such delicate matters and deal justly and sternly with such rogue elements of our civilized society. 

Barriers Faced By a Girl to Receive Basic Education

“Mujhe padhna hai or ek achi Doctor ban na hai kyuki hamare gaanv me doctor nahi hai or na hi hospital hai” (I want to study and become a good doctor because there are no doctors and hospital in my village). This was a small girl of around 7-8 years saying to me when I visited a village nearby my place.

India is a country where girls are deprived of their rights, and some of them do not even get to see this world.  Right from the day of her birth, a girl faces a lot of criticism and is treated like an unwanted.

Education seems to be a difficult task for the girls in the rural areas because of the mindset of the village people. A girl faces a lot of barriers to get proper education in rural areas if her parents are of backward thinking. Their thinking is such because they themselves are illiterate and are bounded by old customs of not sending girls to schools.

The schools have fixed timings and those hours are the peak hours of work in a girl’s household life and this is the most common barrier that the girls face as she has to do the household work and even have to go to their fields and help their parents. To some extent parents are also to be blamed for this because they do not let their child to go the school and receive proper education.

In India we have a less number of female teachers and girls are more likely to attend school if they have female teachers because they are comfortable with them and even parents are not hesitant in sending their girl child to school.

One of the major barriers is the distance problem faced by the girls. Every one of us has seen that children in rural areas have to walk kilometers to reach their schools and it becomes a difficult task for girls to walk long distances as most of the girls are physically weak. To curb this problem, government should open more schools in the villages at proper sites which are easily accessible by girls.

Inadequate school facilities like toilets, drinking water, playgrounds and poor infrastructure also contribute hugely in being a barrier for girls. Majority of schools do not have a toilet or even if they have then it is in pathetic condition. Improper sanitation facility even creates problem for girls who are in their menstrual period. Poor drinking water facilities also keep away the girls from going to school.

We should not just sit in a closed room and discuss about such serious issues, but we should reach out to the rural areas with the help of the government and NGOs and work in harmony with everyone to see the future of our country to read, write and understand i.e. to get proper basic education.

Unhygienic Menstrual Conditions Taking Lives While We Do Nothing About It

Shahana, an eleven year old girl lived in a remote village. She was a student of grade IV. She used rags for managing her menstrual blood. One day after school she came home, changed the soaked rag, washed and dried it under a bean tree for reuse. A harmful insect settled on the rag. Without noticing the insect’s presence, she used this rag the next day. Unfortunately the insect entered her body through the vagina. She felt a serious stomach pain and was taken to hospital. After a week she died.

Who is responsible for her death? Her parents, her teachers or the SOCIETY? Society plays a vital role in the rise and downfall of a civilization. In rural areas, people still believe in old traditions and often land in trouble. The government has to share an equal amount of blame as it is responsible for not reaching out to the villages and spread awareness amongst villagers.

The above mentioned case of Shahana is testimony to the negligence of the government and of the village men who curb women’s space. This case is just one in millions and there are many which are left unnoticed and unheard.

Yes, I am talking about the problem faced by women in rural areas while they menstruate.

A normal woman spends around six to seven years of her life menstruating and she should have proper knowledge about menstruation cycle. A woman has to be careful while in her menstrual period and keep in mind her menstrual hygiene. If she is using a cloth then she should wash it with clean water and dry it at an appropriate and should not use it when it is damp. One more problem is the sanitation facility, girls skip their school while menstruation because of poor sanitation.

Women and girls need to change their sanitary napkins three or four times a day during the period of menstruation especially in the first three days. The vast majority of women and girls use rags- usually torn from old saris, instead of sanitary towels/napkin. Rags are washed and used several times. There is no private place to change and clean the rags and often no safe water and soap to wash them properly. A culture of shame and taboo forces them to seek for well hidden places even in their homes to dry the rags. These places are often damp, dark and unhealthy.

This practice is responsible for a significant proportion of illness and infection associated with female reproductive health. Rags that are unclean, cause urinary and vaginal infection and very often serious infections are left untreated.

It brings shiver to my spine telling you that women in rural areas use ash, sand and even plastic as sanitary pads. The young girls are shy of changing their pads and even if they do then they don’t have a place to dispose them. Such is the condition, it can only get worse if nothing is done. The patriarchy of our society further complicates the problem, if nothing else.

Menstrual hygiene is one of the most important yet neglected issues in rural India. What the girls and women suffer at the hands of embarrassment and shame is unimaginable. Immediate action is required on this front, of course many NGOs are making efforts to solve such a problem which is not even talked about, but then we need mass support and government initiatives at the same time.

All of this is linked to our high levels of maternal mortality, which can only be brought down by ameliorating sanitation and hygiene for women in rural areas. Sanitary napkins, which are best designed and suited for menstruation, should be made available at affordable prices to women, it is a necessity.

Awareness campaigns for menstrual hygiene along with an active participation from these women themselves, in voicing their problems and solving them mutually with women community action, is the immediate need of the hour.