Rukhsar*, a 14-year-old Class IX student and a resident of Sherpur Chowk, had shifted to the Idgah ground in Mustafabad on Tuesday along with many others from her locality. As she was menstruating, she was provided sanitary napkins and innerwear. But that didn’t solve the problem. The biggest worry for many like her was to find a place to change.
“It is embarrassing. Once I went to change at the makeshift bathroom where all the women and children bathe. Another woman walked in and I didn’t know how to react. There are hundreds of us here using that one tent,” she said.
Rukhsar said that once she went to a local neighbour outside the Idgah ground. “I had to tell the woman that I needed to change. It was embarrassing because we don’t usually tell anyone about it. It is not considered good,” she said.
However, the women are still filled with gratitude because “this is the only option they have”.
Sameena (38), mother of three, said that her date is due in three-four days and she is worried. “We don’t go to the two public toilets set up for women outside the ground. Men are outside all the time and it doesn’t feel good,” she said, adding that she prefers walking out of the ground to a local’s house to urinate or defecate.
Rifat Khatoon is four months pregnant. At the relief camp, her strategy to ensure minimum usage of toilet is eat and drink less.
“Because of pregnancy, I have to use the toilet a number of times and it’s tough for me to keep walking out. I try not to eat and drink much,” she said.
Unhygienic conditions
When this reporter visited the makeshift bathroom, which is nothing but a tent covering three sides against the wall, someone had openly defecated and a woman was bathing her two children there. Right next to the bathroom lay a mattress where women were sitting.
“It is so dirty. We are living together and people should take care of the hygiene as well,” said a woman, who did not wish to be identified.
Recalling the violence, Rifat said that she, along with others like Sameena, Rukhsar, Gulafsha and Gulshan from Sherpur Chowk, fled their houses on Monday evening when their neighbours’ houses were being burnt by a mob.
“We hopped from one terrace to the other and finally reached a house which was inhabited by Hindus. They sheltered us safely for a couple of hours and then ensured we reached Mustafabad safely,” said Gulafsha.
“We are grateful to everyone who is helping us but living in the relief camps is tough, especially for women. We just want to go home,” she lamented. There are also regular announcements that mothers should take their daughters wherever they go for their own safety.
In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, women from different NGOs were seen informing the inhabitants of relief camps about usage of their dupattas and ensuring cleanliness.
(*name changed)