Invisible Women and Urban Legends
When I was in school, a very long time ago — when cell phones and the internet were unheard of, terror gripped my city for more than a month. The story that the ghost of a homeless old woman was hunting and killing the people of the city spread like wildfire. Panic prevailed. This white-saree clad ghost, her matted, long, grey hair forming an eerie halo around her head, floated along the streets late at night. She would stop at the door of a house and call out to someone living there. Enticing them to her. If the unfortunate person stepped out of the house — the ghost killed them. Newspapers reported incidents and of course society grapevines were ripe with accounts of people who had witnessed the ghost’s ill deeds. For a time “Haka mari” had become our worst nightmare.
I’m narrating this urban legend here because as things stand today, this legend is closer to becoming a reality in our country’s larger cities. I’m referring of course to something very close to ghosts. Our invisible population. Invisible men and women. Who are these ghosts? They are our nation’s homeless. They live on the street, on footpaths, in parks, under bridges — out in the open but ironically, they remain invisible. Not just to residents of these cities but also to the powers that be.
Having access to adequate and safe housing is a basic human right, affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. A person who is homeless may face violations of not only this right but additionally to the right to education, the right to liberty and security, the right to privacy, the right to social security, the right to freedom from discrimination, the right to vote, the right to affordable healthcare and so many more. Being homeless strips a person of so much that they exist as barely human and become invisible — ghosts. To us and even to themselves.
As transpires in so many other contexts, in homelessness as well, women have it worse. Homeless women suffer the worst kinds of violence and insecurity. They are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.[1] Homeless adult women have poorer outcomes in the domains of health, emotional and general well-being, relationship stability, nutrition and economic well-being.[2]
TW // gender violence, police brutality
Which is not surprising as homeless women are subjected to violence by the enforcers of “law”, the police who destroy their property, forbid them from cooking or destroy their temporary accommodation, by shelter managers and government officials who demand sexual favours and abuse them verbally and physically. Even random passers-by do not leave homeless women alone or let them sleep. Some men even feel entitled to lie down next to them when they are sleeping.[3] Homeless women with young children must stand guard all night, to protect them from kidnappers, abusers and traffickers.[4] To add insult to injury, these women have no access to healthcare so they suffer physical health issues like malnutrition and communicable diseases. Some homeless women are compelled to give birth in the open, in unhygienic conditions, putting both mother’s and child’s lives at risk.[5] They do not use the public toilets at night for fear of being molested or raped. Mental health care is unheard of. Homeless women are discriminated against when searching for jobs as domestic help (which are relatively safer and have timings suitable for women with young children). Basically, if they choose not to sell their bodies for money or barter sex for temporary security, many homeless women have no other option but to beg in order to survive.
If you are still reading this, you might be wondering how these women become homeless in the first place. You might also be a slightly enraged that the powers that be aren’t doing something about it. Understandably so. Let me enlighten you.
In India, women end up homeless because either they have been thrown out of their homes by their families over property disputes, mental illness or after the death of a husband. Or because they have left abusive marriages or suffered sexual violence at home. Or because they migrated to a big city for work and now cannot afford the rent in the slums. Having no place to call home, they wind up on the streets. What about shelters? To say that there is a dearth of shelters for homeless women is an understatement. The situation is so abysmal that three years ago, State Governments were hauled up by the Supreme Court for their failure to provide this basic human right. This is despite the Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission being launched, way back in 2013.
(Street artist JR’s work on a favela in Rio de Janeiro)
Homelessness is an urban phenomenon. Rapid urbanization in the last decade has increased the number of migrants and consequently the number of homeless people in our cities. Urban migration is well documented phenomenon. It has been recorded since 1870. This begs the question — why do our brand new “smart” cities have no plans for the inevitable fall-out of this continuous influx of individuals and families hoping to make their dreams come true in the city? Most likely because the powers that be are conditioned to focus their efforts and investment on those activities that translate into revenue and profit generation. Smart cities have wide roads, rapid transport systems, better systems for water distribution, sewerage, solid waste management, storm water drains even street lights. All of which are needed to sustain and support commerce a.k.a. generate wealth and line pockets. Profit maximization strikes again! And as usual, it is at the cost of human rights and humanity.
Invisible women don’t have a voice. It is unlikely that they will have one in the near future, with the patriarchy behaving as it does. But we can honor them with urban legends. Haka Mari Reboot, anyone?
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-housing-women-idUSKBN1KZ00S
[2] https://www.oecd.org/els/family/HC3-1-Homeless-population.pdf
[3] https://www.hlrn.org.in/documents/Shelters_Homeless_Women.pdf
[4] https://www.hlrn.org.in/documents/Violence_and_Violations_Homeless_Women_in_India_2014.pdf
[5] https://www.indiaspend.com/1-77mn-indians-are-homeless-40-of-them-are-getting-no-lockdown-relief/