the women of anna nagar

THE WOMEN OF ANNA

NAGAR

In any informal settlement or slum the lives of women and theireconomic and health status greatly affects the livelihood of the wholecommunity. Cultural norms dictate that women in urban slums tend to

spend more time in the home caring for their families and theirhouseholds. Factors in the home such as poor sanitation, leaking roofs

and increased flooding and fire risks increase inhabitants’ vulnerability tothe spread of diseases. Because they spend more time in the home,

women are therefore more susceptible to the adverse outcomesassociated with inadequate housing conditions.

Mrs. Om Batti, who has been living in Anna Nagar since 25years , tells usthat she moved to the slum with her husband, thinking delhi, being the

country's capital , may provide good job opportunities for him. She, on theother hand, did not have any form of formal education. This created a lot

 problems for her.Being uneducated, she never stepped out of thehouse.The only earning member was her husband and hence she was

economically dependant on him.Moreover , the cultural background shehad come from did not allow her to work or earn money.She realised theimportance of literacy and how it is related to empowerment of women

and hence , made sure that their daughter completed basic schooling andthen enrolled her for vocationally training course like knitting.This was abig step for her and her husband.Now , as a result even though Mrs. OmBatti is still uneducated and economically dependant on her husband, herdaughter (married at the age of 21 due to social pressures) is employedand economically independent.Mrs. Om Batti now has even had a son,

and they plan to educate him as well .

The scenario is now changing.Even though majority the women are stilluneducated ,the girls have started going to schools and in some caseseven colleges.The girls have lots of dreams and aspirations and they aimto go for further education but are generallied married by the age of22.Social and cultural barriers deny slum dwellers the opportunity tocomplete their basic education.The community is small and hence verytightly knit, even though members come from various religiousbackgrounds and parts of India, including Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,Bihar, and some parts of Maharashtra. Women from this area mostlywork as domestic help in nearby offices.

Due to economic necessity, work patterns of women have changedconsiderably with increasing numbers of women from low socioeconomic settings

participating in the work force.