Menstruation, Still a Taboo

Today, Members of voice of slum and slum post visited the slum area to spread awareness about menstruation. They encouraged the women there to use sanitary nap-kins and showed them how to use them. They explained to 12 and 13 years old girls there that their period is not a disease but rather a biological process; they taught them the hygienic precautions they must take and distributed pas . The girls said that when they had their periods eve-ryone treated them strangely. One married women even claimed that her mother in-law refused to let her cook when she was having her period.

Dearth of Toilets in slums

In Noida (Delhi NCR) sec 45, there are around between two to three hundred families who defecate in public. Sabana, a 13 years old girl who lives in the slums with her family told me that she woke up early in the morning so that she can use the toilet while no one is watching. After that, she will not go again. She complained that open defecation causes many illnesses. I asked her why no one demands their land lords to provide toilets; she replied that if they did so, they would be beaten and evicted. If they then moved to government housing, they would risk arrestment.

Sadarpur Monday Market

The slum dwellers near sadarpur live next to mounds of garbage which has been thrown into the slums by the families, multiplex residents and shopkeepers nearby. Due to this, they suffer from many diseases but they cannot afford to hire cleaners to remove the garbage. 
They told me that MCD people do not help them, and their landlords treat them
 cruelly.