Open the floodgates

With floods ravaging the lives of some very poor districts that even during normal times cry for better measures, a pandemic may spell doom to the women, writes Preethi Nagaraj

It has been quite a harrowing year so far. As if the pandemic wasn’t killing us enough, the northern part of Karnataka is reeling under an additional crisis. Incessant rains have caused floods owing to swelling of Bhima River leaving four districts — Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, and Raichur — submerged. Rains have been wreaking havoc in many otherwise arid regions for a few years on a row.

Reports say people from 97 villages are shifted to safety from the most affected Kalaburagi district, with over 28,000 people staying in 174 relief camps. At the same time, there has been waterlogging in Bengaluru, a possible lake breach and this has doubled the misery of residents in affected areas.

A pandemic, income losses, compromised livelihood, rains, and emergency situations were something that happened in films where leading man/men (usually) came and wiped clean all the miseries and there was a smile of relief-cum-gratitude on people’s faces. Because, at last, they had been saved or the film ended. Has our vicarious and consistent wishing for doomsday finally been answered, perhaps?

Women in north Karnataka have been telling a different story of caste-based discrimination, that has altogether escaped the mainstream media. This is oft-repeated and talked about. The first time we heard of this just a few floods ago, it shocked our elite sentiments.

Now, to elaborate on what goes on at relief centres that turn out to be unsettling experiences for humans who are forced to coexist with ‘castes’ is that they lose their humanity to protect their fabricated borders.

There have been no subtle attempts to divide relief centres on caste equations. Now can you imagine where that leaves women of castes that are not considered among the upper classifications?

They are forced to live in a corner, eat less because, hey who can take a crap in full visibility of upper castes? There could be water everywhere, but no, don’t even think of drinking it, because, naturally, where will the women pee? Their vaginas exist to be exploited and not as part of natural bodily functions. This is perhaps the ONLY time that the caste ceases to exist.

They are deprived of an equal chance to outlive a pandemic and natural calamity. Lack of education leaves them with no opportunity to claim agency over their own bodies and access to reproductive health. Let’s not even get started on the sexual exploitation (harassment is a VERY mild word) they undergo and don’t even realise their own agony. Because they are perhaps told that they are lucky to be left alive.

The relief centres are equipped with all essentials that may just help the people survive this testing time. But women and their menstrual periods are left poorly addressed and this may not change for many years unless women demand better treatment. Do we need more women in relief measure planning to fix this error? YES!

With floods ravaging the lives of some very poor districts that even during normal times cry for better measures and knowledge of hygiene, a pandemic may spell doom to the women. United Nations data during natural calamities in the past 14 women have been wiped out by natural disasters and aftermath, over each man. However, the Covid-19 data shows women are less affected by the virus over other life-threatening situations which claim lives. To say, the society isn’t even as kind as Covid-19 to the fairer sex. This story isn’t bound to end well, because it didn’t begin well.

On a parting shot, here’s a ‘happy Kannada Rajyotsava’ to all genders and ages! May we continue to strive to build a society that keeps us all together and survive everything that threatens our existence!

(The author is a journalist deeply seeped into the theatre of (&) politics.)