World Population Day: How class, caste, gender make women more vulnerable in disaster situations

Today is the World Population Day. This year's theme 'Vulnerable populations in Emergencies: Protecting a woman's life is a priority in any circumstance at all times' focuses on challenges of women population at the time of disasters. Kanchan Srivastava spoke to three women of Latur and Osmanabad to understand how disasters impact the life of women:

She lost hubby in quake, thrown out by in-laws
Sunita Madole (40), Ambulga, Latur
Sunita was barely 18 and a mother of a two-month old baby when quake struck her village Chincholi of Latur 22 years ago. Chincholi is very close to the worst-affected Killari. The house collapsed killing her husband. Sunita and her daughter were rescued from the rumbles after many hours.
As soon as the government offered Rs2 lakh compensation, she was expelled from her marital home. A heartbroken young widow with an infant in her arms couldn't fight for her rights and came back to her parental home in Ambuja village of Latur. "I didn't have resources to get my right. My parents had a small laundry. I joined them," says Sunita who started a new journey.
Poverty forced her to look for other options for income and she joined a tailoring class and later took loan to buy a sewing machine. "Tailoring helped me stand on my feet but earning was meagre. I could survive only because of the support of my parents and brothers. But things are improving now," says Sunita whose daughter Arti is now a school teacher.

'Muslim women suffered more'
Sharifa Nawaz Saiyad (40), Lohara, Osmanabad
When quake destroyed several homes in her village Lohara, Sharifa was barely 18 and a mother of three kids. She had never spoken to men outside the family.
"Life under the temporary shelter was no less than hell. There were so many men around. I had to do all chores with a burqa on. Attending nature's call and feeding the children were an embarrassment," says Sharifa.
"Muslim women were suffering more due to the purdah custom, early marriage, more kids and other restrictions. Men had other ways to distract themselves from the suffering, but women as caregivers suffered more."
She told her then sarpanch husband that she would work with affected women who needed support. After sometime, she told she would no longer wear burqa as it affects efficiency. "This was a huge shock for the namazi family. But I was firm. Men in the family opposed but the women supported me," says Sharifa, who ensured all social schemes and civic facilities come to her village.
Sharifa is now a gram panchayat member. "Muslims prefer to marry girls at the age of 14-15. I married off my daughter at the age of 22. She is in BA final," says Sharifa with pride.

'Poverty forced many girls to flesh trade'
Nirmala More, (43), Nilegoan Tanda, Osmanabad
Nirmala was doing odd-jobs like cleaning rice for Rs5 a day since the age of 9 when she lost her father. At the time of the quake, she 21 and was earning Rs15 a day. Her house had collapsed three weeks later.
She decided to join the rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the nearby village of Nuldurg. "Our loss was nothing compared to people of Nuldurg," says Nirmala who in association with the Swayam Shikshan Prayog worked nearly for four years offering mental and other support to affected women, helping them establish self-help groups and open small shops, rear hen and goats.
"I couldn't marry due to poverty," says Nirmala. Landless Nirmala dedicated herself to social work, leased 140 acre land with other women to do farming and later got elected to the gram panchayat.
"However, many girls from the affected areas were pushed into flesh trade and dance bars. The families never reported this to police fearing backlash and welfare of other children," says Nirmala with a choked throat.