New Delhi—It is not only the biting cold that hundreds of Punjabi women who are protesting against the Centre on the outskirts of Delhi, are weathering. They are struggling with no toilets, and poor hygiene of public loos which too are very less in number on the Singhu-Tikri border where they are pitching in solidarity with thousands of farmers from Punjab.
The women, young and old alike, a lot of whom have marched in open tractors and canters, towards Delhi since the Dilli Chalo call by farmers on November 26, walk kilometers daily to relieve themselves, many times a day. The unclean washrooms in nearby petrol pumps are of hardly any utility to them. Squatting in a corner, a group of women can be heard deliberating on the matter. “Those are public loos that no one bothers to clean. It is a health hazard. So we try to use them as less as possible,” says 45-year-old Jaswant Kaur whose views were endorsed by her friend Rajwinder Kaur. “The stench is unbearable. You can’t even enter. We just thank god that at least there is some place to go.”
The hardship does not end with the problem aggravating after dark since the women cannot venture into nearby fields alone, and some petrol pumps also close operations in the night. “Sharm aundi hai ji bandeyaan nu kehndeyaan. Assi fer sver tak wait karde haan(We feel embarrassed asking men to accompany us when we want to relieve ourselves. So we wait for the first light of the day),” Kamalpreet Kaur of Ropar says matter of fact. The harsh weather and open area only adds to their woes as mercury plummets considerably at night. “Mushqil taan hundi aa par ae vi zaruri aa(It is not a pleasant feeling to hold till morning but our cause is more important),” 38-year-old Harjeet Kaur asserts.
Undeterred, these women took it upon themselves to find a solution. They have made a few makeshift washrooms near the protesting site using cloth sheets. “We can’t have our men fret over this when they are fighting for our future. These loos are not very convenient but we are not complaining,” smiles Prabhjot Kaur. “We go in groups with someone standing guard outside. The washrooms are not many in number but we have adjusted. This is small hiccup. Saddi ladai vaddi hai(We have a war to win),” 55-year-old Harpreet chips in.
