A 3,500 sq km salt marsh, LRK encompassing Kutch, Patan, Surendranagar, Banaskantha and Rajkot is crucial for inland salt production, contributing one-third of the country’s supply. It is also a key source of ginger prawn exports. Despite such unique contributions, there has hardly been any government effort to ensure dignity of life for the workforce here — one of its manifestations being in the form of medical conditions caused by lack of menstrual hygiene.

There are six salt zones in LRK, where the Scheduled Caste community of Agariyas toil for eight months of the year. During the monsoon period between June and September, the area sees saltwater ingress from the Gulf of Kutch. When the monsoon time ends, worker families arrive mainly from four neighboring districts of Surendranagar, Patan, Rajkot and Kutch and settle in makeshift sheds for the next eight months.

Water scarcity is a silent predator in LRK, birthing a cascade of health crises stemming from lack of menstrual hygiene. Jauriben Chhotabai, a salt worker in Surendranagar, attests this, so do Jalpa (18) who suffers from infections and white discharge and Vimla who deals with painful urination.

If neglected, lack of menstruation hygiene can lead to toxic shock syndrome, reproductive tract infections and other vaginal diseases. Excruciating abdominal pain, medically termed as painful cramps, accompany these conditions. Bhartben Shailbhai (19), a salt pan worker from Gosana village in Dasada taluka of Surendranagar district, has been going through it every month for the past three years. According to her, medical treatment has not helped.

“The pain begins in my lower abdomen and spreads to my back and thighs,” she says, her voice heavy with despair.

“Once trapped in an infection, liberation from it seems incredibly difficult. The lack of water prevents proper cleaning of private parts. Using the same cloth repeatedly after washing during menstruation makes their problem even more severe,” notes Jairambhai Devabhai Savalia, the secretary of Narayanpura Cooperative Society at Patdi in Dasada taluka.

Women work in salt pans for more than 10 hours a day. Those leasing salt pans enter into verbal agreements with ancestral producers, ensuring a share of salt revenue. Heenaben Jagabhai Khakariya (24) from Kesariya village of Lakhtar taluka in Surendranagar district claims that she has not been able to seek treatment for dysmenorrhea due to her demanding job. She tried traditional methods like carom seeds in lukewarm water to relieve pain, but without much effect.

Pankti Jog, an advocacy coordinator at JANPATH, a collaborative forum based in Ahmedabad, remarks that the struggles of women workers in LRK does not end with water scarcity. “They have severe menstrual hygiene management challenges due to lack of hygiene resources such as clean water, soap, sanitary pads and toilets, leading to infections and waterborne diseases,” she says.

No government medical facilities are available in LRK. However, there are primary health centres (PHCs) in Kutch, which function well. Even if they somehow get access to these PHCs, the women workers will not make use of them, thanks to the stigma surrounding menstruation and unwillingness to consult male doctors.

A duty forgotten

Dr Viren Dosi from Bhansali Trust has been serving the salt workers of Santalpur in Patan district for two decades. He stresses that providing free water is the duty of state government. Yet, Agariyas are left parched in most areas of LRK.

“In Surendranagar, water charges are based on salt production units (paatas), costing Rs 900 per month. Tankers deliver only 500 litres every five to seven days, forcing families to ration every drop. Women suffer the most, with inadequate water exacerbating menstrual hygiene struggles,” says Sahiya from Bhalot village of Kutch’s Anjar taluka.

“Bathing is a once-a-week affair; utensils are washed with the same water for days,” shares Ramaben from Patdi in Surendranagar. With no government water supply, the Agariya community is forced to rely on private tankers that charge Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 for 500 litres.

Speaking to 101Reporters, Dr RB Singh, Taluka Health Officer, Santalpur, highlights state’s efforts to improve menstrual health in LRK, “where a mobile medical van visits salt workers weekly”. While sanitary pads are distributed, challenges like limited water availability and infrequent visits from health units remain. The health workers try to visit at least once in 10 days, but local weather, uncertain temperature and dusty winds pose problems.

On menstrual health issues, the health department officials simply say that they are spreading awareness. When asked about the lag in capacity building, they outright refuse to acknowledge the truth.

The right approach

The Menstrual Hygiene Scheme under the National Health Mission aims at improving menstrual hygiene, especially in rural areas, by providing free or affordable sanitary pads. Despite its goals, these provisions are absent in the LRK region. Awareness programmes and safe pad disposal initiatives are conducted, with training for anganwadi workers. However, questions remain about the state’s commitment to these programmes, particularly in Agariya settlements.

The scheme aims at reducing unhealthy practices, improving health and eliminating menstruation stigma, yet environmentalist Mudita Vidrohi highlights concerns over its execution. “A multi-dimensional approach is essential. It should include information and education to address gender equality standards and the stigma surrounding menstruation,” she says.

“There must be an adequate number of safe and private toilets, easily accessible water facility for hygiene purposes, culturally appropriate menstrual products and materials [such as cloth, pads], socially and environmentally suitable methods for the disposal of used sanitary materials, private washing/drying facilities for clothes, practical information on maintaining hygiene during menstruation and supportive healthcare services,” Harinesh Pandya of Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch tells 101Reporters.

Ahmedabad-based writer Preeti Jain Agyat stresses the importance of linking anganwadi centres and midday meal workers to a system of providing sanitary napkins for women and girls.

“Regular supply of sanitary pads is essential. Corporate Social Responsibility can play a crucial role in eliminating these issues in Kutch. Activating panchayats and involving non-governmental organisations in this campaign could also make a significant impact” says Jog.

On dealing with water scarcity, Bharat Somera, a social activist based at Patdi in Surendranagar district, says, “During the British era, water was supplied through pipes over a limited distance of five to eight km in LRK. There is a need to revive and expand this pipeline. Additionally, the daily water supply needs to be ensured, and the amount of water per household should be increased.”

Asked if it is possible to effectively address the issues of water supply and women’s health in Kutch, Pandya retorts, “Why not? If the vibrant Rann Utsav flourishes in the desert, surely this challenge is within reach. What is required is the resolve of our leaders and bureaucracy.”

Amarendra Kishore is a freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters. 

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Gujarat: A Painful Period in Salt Pans of Little Rann of Kutch appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On July 8, Ayush Ashna, a final-year B.Tech student in Mathematics and Computer Science at IIT-Delhi, was found dead in his hostel room. The deceased student, aged 20, hailed from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, Ayush was staying at the Udaigiri Hostel on the campus and was enrolled in the institute’s summer course. As per media reports, the police is calling the said incident to be prima facie.

What is the reason for the students’ outrage?

According to a report by The Hindu, the institute’s director informed all of the students and employees of Mr. Ashna’s passing by email, referring to it as a “sad and untimely demise”. However, as per a report by News Minute, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student’s organisation at IIT Delhi, had issued a statement pursuant to the email, stating that even as Ayush was from a Scheduled Tribe (ST), the institute made no mention of it in their condolence email. The organisation further alleged that this highlights how unwelcoming the institute is for students from Scheduled Castes and Tribes to address “institutional casteism, bullying, and constant questioning of SC/ST students’ merits.”

There was unease on campus once students learned that Mr. Ashna came from a marginalised background, and yet there was no mention of it in the director’s email. On July 12, a condolence gathering was subsequently scheduled by the institute. One of the students, who was a part of the condolences meeting, stated, “The Director’s communication did not even mention that Ayush was a ST student and that his death was a suicide.” Students initially thought Mr. Ashna was an Adivasi, but according to a report in The Hindu, members of the school’s official SC/ST Cell have established that the boy is from a family that belongs to a Scheduled Caste.

Furthermore, as per the Hindu’s report, at the condolence meet, the Dean of Student Affairs said that the only introspection to be done was that “we have to do more”, and the Director Rangan Banerjee said “we need to have a more humane institute”. However, Shainal Verma, the student representative of the SC/ST Cell, said it was important to examine why students from marginalised backgrounds experience the campus so differently and asked the administration what it was doing to address these concerns.

Students from Ayush’s department later expressed disappointment that the institute had not made more of an effort to let people on campus know about the condolence meeting. “Even from the department, there was only one professor as a representative,” one of them said.

Soon after the condolence meeting, senior faculty, including the Director and the Dean of Academics, initiated talks with representatives of the SC/ST Cell, constituted and given a mandate just three months ago, about measures that could be taken to address the issues of the experience of marginalised students on campus, including possibilities of surveying students on campus, as per the Hindu’s report.

Not the first suicide, but will it be the last?

It is essential to note that Ayush’s death has come merely months after the death of Darshan Solanki, a Dalit student of IIT Bombay. Darshan, aged 19, was a chemical engineering student from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, who had died by suicide at the campus on February 12, 2023, a day after his semester exams ended.

After much uproar by the students and citizenry, a 12-member committee was formed at IIT Bombay to investigate the reasons behind his death and a report submitted by them ruled out caste discrimination and alleged that he was upset due to his poor academic performance. However, his father Rameshbai rejected the findings of the report and told the media that he did not trust the committee to bring out the truth as it did not have members from outside the institute.

Only last week, on July 6, the Supreme Court had heard the petition mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi and deemed caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions to be a ‘very sensitive matter’. The matter was being heard by a division bench of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice MM Sundresh. Both Rohith and Payal had faced caste-based discrimination in institutions of higher education, which had led to them dying by suicide. The Supreme Court had sought the University Grants Committee’s (UGC) response, specifying the specifying the guidelines already taken, and planned, by them for creating an enabling environment for students belonging to SC/ ST communities in higher education institutions.

Related:

SC deems caste-based discrimination in higher education system to be a ‘very sensitive matter’

Lessons Unlearned: Nine years after the Thorat Committee report

The Death of Merit: Dalit Suicides in institutes of higher learning

Systemic Prejudice, Absence of Grievance Redressal reasons for Dalit Suicides: Teacher Testimonies

A letter that should shake our world: Dalit scholar suicide triggers outrage

Rohith Vemula’s ‘institutional murder’: Five years on, family and friends still wait for justice

REPLUG: Rohith Vemula, Your Sacrifice was Not in Vain

“Highly appalling to see SIT ignoring rank caste discrimination Darshan faced despite overwhelming evidence”: Ramesh Solanki

IIT Bombay Dalit student death: Dr Bhalchandra Mungekar, ex Rajya Sabha member, demands SIT probe into his death 

Mumbai Dharna for Darshan Solanki makes calls for law against caste discrimination

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