Karauli (Rajasthan): Every day at 6 am, Reena stealthily heads out from her house with the veil of her saree pulled down till her nose to avoid being seen when leaving to do the job she hates the most -- removing human excrement with her bare hands.
Living just 325 km from the national capital in Rajasthan's Karauli district, Reena is among 116 manual scavengers the central government had identified for rehabilitation two years ago. She was employed as a sweeper in the local civic body but was thrown out of her job which forced her to resume manual scavenging.
"My own children run away from me when I reach home. They say I stink and make them throw up," Reena told a visiting IANS correspondent.
Reena is among the many women in impoverished Karauli who are forced to make ends meet by doing manual scavenging. Despite the existence of strict laws prohibiting manual scavenging in the country, the centuries-old practice is still rampant in many areas.
Belonging to the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy, these women clean dry latrines and carry the faeces in bamboo baskets on their heads for dumping in a faraway place.
After a great deal of persuasion, Reena and five other manual scavengers agreed to meet this IANS correspondent and narrate their ordeal.
"Three days after my marriage, my mother-in-law took me along with her and forced me to remove excreta from a house. After that I had to be admitted to a hospital for three days," sharp-featured Sulekha (name changed), 30, told IANS.
She cleans the toilets of 15 houses every morning - and the amount she gets from each house is an appallingly low Rs.20 per month.
The women frequently complain of headaches, stomach aches and nausea - due to inhaling the noxious fumes during their work. The women are also malnourished.
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