India is breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, malnutrition and population explosion. Muslim women keen for family planning.

Pratim Ranjan Bose 

It was a motley village crowd of 10 odd young mothers from poor agrarian background.

They came on a daily visit to the Integrated Child Development Services centre (ICDS is an India Government sponsored scheme that aims to offer nutritious food to expecting mothers and children, from poor families, and double as a preparatory school) and, were in a hurry to go back home for preparing food for their families. And, excepting one, rest were from Muslim families.

Considering the religious taboos against use of contraceptives among Muslims, I was a little hesitant to raise issues as ‘sensitive’ as 'family planning'. 

Baish-hata: picturesque but, lacks civic amenities

In the end, however, I cut a fool of myself as the women picked up the tab and started talking openly about how they forced their men to go for a smaller family than in the past.

“I have my second child last year and that’s the end,” declared a 20 something Innehar Gazi of Baish-hata in South 24-Parganas district in West Bengal. Others joined him in chorus to underline that the norm of the days is to have a maximum of three children.

Brewing Change

It is often argued that democracy is India’s biggest stumbling block in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, malnutrition and high population growth; as successfully as in the single-party ruled China that justifies use of force for uplift of the poor.  

India aims to reach the same goal through the circuitous route of consensus building. And, there is little denying that the electoral democracy often makes the job more difficult than perceived.  

Yet, the social contours of India are perhaps changing, for the better, as I witnessed last week, while taking part in social auditing of a Welthungerhilfe  sponsored project in Joynagar-II block in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.

WHH representatives at work. Pix: author

The project aims to help people take advantage of the government sponsored welfare initiatives, in ensuring mother and child healthcare, through awareness building.

The choice of location was crucial.

With over 8 million people - majority of which are poor Muslims and lower caste Hindus - jostling for space in a 100 kms stretch that is low on agriculture activity, between one of country’s biggest cities in Kolkata and the mangrove forests of the Sunderbans; South 24-Parganas district in West Bengal is a true representative of India’s highly uneven development trajectory.

Ranked as one of the most backward districts in the country, South 24-Parganas records lower sex-ratio (937) than the national (940) and State average (947) and witnesses extremely high incidences of crime against women. And, Joynagar-II with a human development Index of 0.55 is ranked as one of the worst place to live in the entire country.

The vicious cycle

For six decades of Independent India, the region has seen pitched turf war among rival political camps (many of which idolise Marxist philosophies). They were keen to win elections, often at the cost of heavy bloodsheds, without taking much care in creating even basic physical and social infrastructure.

Take the case of two villages I visited: Baish-hata and Purba Raghunathpur. Both are listed as backward villages with Muslim population ranging between 50 to 98 per cent.

ICDS centre at Baish-hata. Dilapidated and dangerous. Pix: author

Though located hardly 10 odd kms away from the nearest town of Joynagar-Majilpur (that falls under the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority), both the villages are inaccessible by car due to absence of roads. The condition deteriorates during the prolonged rainy season in the Delta.

The primary schools are located at least 1.5 kms from the villages, as against the prescribed limit of 1 km. Health infrastructure is crumbling as the population pressure far exceeds the nationally prescribed norm of one Health Centre for every 5,000 population.

Baish-hata runs its ICDS centre from a dilapidated British-era structure that may come down any day. And, Purba Raghunathpur, didn’t have a decent place to conduct the business till a local NGO, Nimpith Ramkrishna Asram - that is implementing the WHH project - decided to create one, two years ago.

Muslim women worst sufferer

But that is just about physical infrastructure. The situation had been far worse on social front, especially with the Muslim women, due to religious taboos fanned by the community leaders and the lack of intent among vote hungry politicians to build opinion against the same.

The result was atrocious.

Najma Sepai of Purba Raghunathpur was married off when she was merely 12.

Today the malnourished woman, hardly in her late 20’s or early 30’s, has already given birth of six. All the children were delivered at home as the religious taboos deters Muslim women to be treated in hospitals manned by male doctors. Apart from being a baby factory, she doubles as home maker and a seasonal farm labour, often during pregnancy.

Sepai is not an exception. Run a check across the length and breadth of the two villages and, the women appear at least 10-15 years older than they actually are.

Humble facilities of Purba Raghunathpur. Pix: author

They are tired of playing the beasts of burden.

A silent Revolution !

But, the tiredness coupled with increasing awareness campaigns has finally started triggering a silent revolution here, as Muslim women have started aspiring for a better life.  

The credit does not go to any single factor.

It is true that the increased government spending on social welfare since 2005 has started leaving its impressions. But, most of such initiatives, excluding the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, are yet to be fully implemented or its implementation is hamstrung by many associated factors including inflation and the slowing GDP growth that limits the nation’s capacity to spend.

Baish-hata, for example, recently got a modest school infrastructure, courtesy the Education-for-All programme. But its teacher student ratio is far inferior to the norms prescribed by the Right-to-Education Act.

In an effort to improve the woman and child healthcare coverage, the National Rural Health Mission, wanted to recruit one Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) for every 1000 villagers by 2012. But, till date Baish-Hata has 3 ASHA worker for a population of 10,000 and Purba Raghunathpur has one for 8,000.

WHH’s initiative has filled this gap by making women aware about the pitfalls of giving birth of too many babies that too at young ages; ways and means in ensuring a daily dose of vitamin or protein to their children to prevent malnourishment; breaking religious taboos against immunisation of children or the importance of ensuring basic hygiene as part of preventive healthcare.

The initiative has definitely touched the raw nerves as young mothers have now become insistent in ensuring a better tomorrow for their children.

If Saheba Mondal of Purba Raghunathpur is remorseful for avoiding immunization of her first child; Safia Molla of Baish-Hata is careful that her 2 year old must drink only boiled water – a sea change in approach to life in a land (Joynagar-II) that records one of the lowest health indices (0.46) in the country.

Change in the air!

Add to this, the proliferation of mass media, especially the TV boom, and the result is magical. Women are brimming with confidence to aspire for more.

If Murshida Gazi of Baish-hata is forthcoming in breaking the age-old practices that forces women to defer their lunch till the family is through with it; Saheba Mondal of Purba Raghunathpur is insistent that daughter must clear school before she is married.

Of course the level of awareness is not seamless and varies depending on the demography and the socio-economic background. The women of Purba Raghunathpur  - that is relatively poor and has higher concentration of Muslim population – for example, are relatively less vocal in airing their aspirations or to take on the male domination.

Source: www.mass-education.com

Also, there are many cultural barriers that are yet to be broken. The high ratio (nearly 80 per cent) of child-births at home and, marriages within the family lineage; are some of them.  

Yet, the change is palpable. And, even the village men admit, that times have changed for the better. 

Time to take-off

Safia Molla of Baish-hata was married off while she was in Ninth Grade in school. In March this year her daughter appeared for school final (Tenth grade) exam. She wants to be a doctor.

There were more girls in her daughter’s class than boys, claims a proud mother. She is looking forward to her daughter to become a doctor.

“If a man can be a doctor, so does a woman,” Safia is confident.

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