Nearly two weeks after floods began to play havoc across Bihar, around 50 people squatted on the wet earth at a relief camp in Dudhiala in Vaishali on Saturday for a lunch of rice, dal and vegetables.
The administration has set up over 500 shelters in schools across the state at which flood-affected people are given two cooked meals a day and medical treatment. To receive their meal, the villagers must write down their names or put their thumb prints on sheets of paper maintained by the block authorities.
But in Dudhiala, not a single woman had turned up to eat. And this didn't surprise anyone.
“How can we go there?” asked Chandravati Devi. “There are so many men.”
Added Chamelidevi Saha, “It is not right for women to go.” Others admitted that they were too shy to get their meals.
There are about 500 women in the village, and none of them go to the place the meals are being served.
To stave off hunger, the women have been making do with snacks such as samosas and litti that they were buying from the nearby market, though they admitted that the nutrition this provided was nowhere near adequate.
On further questioning, some of the women said they would be mocked if they visited the camp for meals. Said Sumitradevi Rai, ”Ninda lagave.” They will taunt us.
'They are rustic women, they feel shy'
Scroll.in decided to visit Dudhiala village. When an appointment was sought, this reporter was directed to a restaurant owned by the mukhiya's family.
Ironically, even though the village had elected a woman head, Manju Devi, she was at home. It soon became clear that her husband, Om Prakash Yadav, was the real power in the settlement.
Asked why women weren't getting food, Yadav's brother, Gobindlal Yadav, said, ”If the women are not coming to eat, can we forcibly pick them up from the shelter and get them there?”
He added, ”Whoever comes to the camp can eat, whether they be women, children, the elderly, anyone. We are not stopping anyone.”
He explained that the women were ”dehati” [rustic] and may not feel comfortable as the maidan was usually crowded with men.
Panchayat officials said they had started distributing packets of puris and chana for villagers stuck in their homes.
A shortage of toilets
The problems don't end there.
The village has only two make-shift toilets: tarpaulin-covered enclosures that offer little privacy. Here too, there is a hierarchy of use.
”The men go first,” said Phooljhadi Devi. ”And then the toilets get so dirty and there is no water to clean them, how can we use them?”
The water tanks come twice a day. After stocking up for their basic needs, the villagers have little water to spare for the toilets.
As a result, the women use the railway tracks near the market, either very early in the morning or late at night.
Is it safe?
“What else can we do?” asked Tetari Devi. "There are labourers there picking bricks. But we have no other option.”
But a local official said the facilities were adequate and it was the villagers themselves who preferred to go to the tracks.
The relief activities stopped on September 3, the day Scroll.in visited the village. Many homes were still under water.
Separate lines, enclosures
This reporter tried to get some of the women to go to the camp to see if the authorities would refuse them food. None agreed, and most of them did not feel the situation was unfair.
Some of the women said they may be persuaded to go to the camp if the authorities made certain arrangements for them, such as separate lines and enclosures, or food packets.
But Rama Rai, an associate of Om Prakash Yadav, dismissed the suggestions. ”Is it the sarkar’s job to distribute food?” he asked.
