What does poverty mean in rural India?
It is hard for us in the developed world to relate to the misery faced by hundreds of millions of people in rural India on a daily basis. Women and children especially bear the burdens of family existence. For the more than 280 million people living below the poverty line in rural India this poverty means:
- Poor access to water and nutrition… women and children walk for miles to find and carry back water for drinking, cooking and washing… 138 million rural people do not have access to clean and safe water
- Poor access to affordable shelter… from relentless sun and beating monsoon rain…
- Poor access to health services, health education and sanitation… not knowing 2how to fight off water-borne diseases or be able to prevent malnutrition… 629 million people live without proper sewage systems
- Poor access to literacy… unable to access written information or to educate children in villages far from the closest primary school… over 50 % of all Indian women cannot read or write, and far more in rural areas
- Poor access to participation in village decision-making… powerless to claim and exercise human and constitutional rights or to have any say in village affairs
- Poor opportunities for income generation… not being able to build, or even dream of, a different economic future; no prospect of an escape from discrimination and dependence
This is the other face of India. Villagers’ access to water, shelter, health, food security, literacy and human dignity is more fragile than ever.
