Journalism of Courage
The two girls in Badaun who were raped and killed had left home to go to the fields to relieve themselves. Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being teased, the shame of being seen, and the discomfort of counting hours. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
There are very few houses in Katra Sadatganj that aren’t pucca. The girls and women wait for it to be dark to go to the fields after ensuring that there are no men around. Afternoon hours, generally the perfect time for women to go to adjoining fields, are for the “emerzency times”. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Ask why didn’t they build a toilet and the villager shakes his head despondently, “I am not heartless, I know how difficult it is for my girls, but please understand my situation. I had to make arrangements for a pucca roof over our heads first. Before that, every time it rained, our hut would be flooded and collapse. Without the boundary wall, boys would lurk outside, staring at my girls. We are poor people, we have to weigh our expenses carefully.” (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Neelam, 15, has devised her own protection: she hides her lota under her dupatta. “The lota is a giveaway. The boys know what we are going for. They follow if it’s only girls with no elders, and flash torches on our faces when we are relieving ourselves in the fields. If we get up hurriedly, they laugh and run away,” she says. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
The 15-year-old says it doesn’t matter what caste the men belong to, or what age. “Even old men stop their tractors and flash lights at us if we are near the road. When we run away in shame, they flash their lights at our backs, so everyone knows what we were doing,” she says quietly. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Since May 27, everytime the young women in the house need to go to the fields, the old woman stands guard. In some case father or brother always stands guard. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Following the outrage over the death of the two cousins, NGO Sulabh International has started the process of building toilets in the village. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
These will have a sitting area of cement and bricks, with a makeshift tank below to be cleaned every few months. Construction has begun in 10 houses near the victims’ home. Flooded with visitors, the victims’ own family has requested that their toilet be constructed later. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Villagers getting themselves registered ti get a toilet as part if a survey being done by the Sulabh International following the Badaun rape and murder. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Slogans are scribbled over the walls at the primary government school in the village and the secondary school about 2 km away, on the merits of using toilets and warning children, particularly girl students, against open defecation. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
It was in 2002 that the last survey to identify BPL families for the Indira Awaas Yojana was carried out in the village. Pradhan Kamal Kant admits that many villagers like Bhajan Singh who were sanctioned money for a room and a toilet under the programme never actually constructed the toilets. Of those who did, still fewer use them. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
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