COVID-19 Relief: how to reach the marginalised among the marginalised

This is the third story in a multi-part series on the pandemic and its impact on people in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, YUVA, a non-profit organisation, attempts to understand the

challenges they face in accessing relief and assesses the rights-based approach to benefits.

The COVID-19-induced lockdown disproportionately impacted the lives of women and other minority genders. In a pre-pandemic world these communities were already disadvantaged, with lesser

space for expression, deeper struggles in accessing jobs, more vulnerability to abuse and often shouldering a larger burden of household duties and care needs. 

Nazar is a trans-woman who lives alone in Ambujwadi, an informal settlement in Malad. As a member of the Hijra community whose main source of income is derived from participating in a group

that attends weddings and religious functions, the lockdown has left her with no choice but to stay home with no earnings. Weddings are certainly not garish affairs as they used to be.

She is entitled to the relief provided by the state and non-state actors. However, she highlights the need for relief efforts that are informed by the community’s knowledge and

participation. 

Communities such as Hijras or sex workers have unique needs which are often not met. Additionally, adverse perceptions to them further restrict their access.

Sarita is a single parent and a sex worker living in Vashi Naka. She says she faced discrimination and been ostracised by her community even at this time. Despite having four children at

home to feed, she was turned away from a fair price shop distribution of ration. “These women are sex workers. Why do they need ration? They must be having a lot of bank balance. They loot

men.” she was told.

She is worried if she will manage the school fees of her eldest daughter, currently in the tenth standard. 

In the wake of COVID-19, the government announced direct cash transfers  to women holding Jan Dhan accounts. However, an upcoming report by Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) shows

that only 24.09 %  surveyed households had bank accounts in the name of female family members and not all were Jan Dhan accounts.

Nazar observes the inequalities emerging in disaster-response initiatives within the community. She believes that the most vulnerable people continue to remain invisible in the eyes of the

non-profits and the local government. 

“Within a few self-help groups (SHGs) whose setup YUVA had facilitated, the women took a small loan and used their remaining savings to begin street vending”, said Shanta Khot from YUVA,

explaining how community members have begun conversations with government officials on the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) further supporting SHGs, but the pace of this has been

very slow.

To help marginalised women and adolescent girls better understand and respond to the evolving situation, YUVA has led some online and on-field sessions in select communities across the

Mumbai Metropolitan Region on health and hygiene, access to entitlements (such as ration cards), and the power of community-led action.

In the community of Behrampada, Bandra, for instance, many girls do not have any space for expression and getting them to engage with one another is a start. Sessions with them on

‘understanding the self’ (focusing on their self-development), working as ‘me and we’ (focusing on self-awareness and group building), and ‘the importance of solidarity’ (the power of

collectives and networks to drive change) is helping them better develop their personality and helping them identify ways in which they can work together for the betterment of their

community. Efforts are also being made to work with their families, so they may encourage the girls to continue to remain connected and work with one another.

To better inform and protect children from sexual abuse, sessions have been held online and offline on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on ‘good touch and bad

touch’, often led by the Child Protection Committee based in the community. 

Kumud was unable to register at any hospital for her delivery when she was nine months pregnant. “They told me to come when I get labour pains”, she says, remembering how eventually her

child was delivered at home.

She has been served by one of the Ambujwadi aanganwadi workers. Aanganwadi workers are constrained in many cases, but in Ambujwadi, for instance, a few aanganwadi workers have been

supporting medical and related needs, from delivery related support to following up on the infant’s birth certificate, and immunisation needs. 

For too long, women and minorities  have suffered and faced unequal access to space and opportunity. Given the opportunity that the pandemic has offered to reassess and rebuild, it is

important to reach out with holistic measures that ensure we leave no one behind. 

“I personally know people who cannot light their chulha and have starving children. But people who have, have a lot. And those who don’t, they don’t have anything at all’, says Nazar. 

With rapid urbanisation and increasing strain on public water supply systems, especially in cities like Bengaluru and Chennai, sustainable water management has become essential. Rainwater

Harvesting (RWH) is one of the simplest and most effective methods to address water scarcity, reduce urban flooding, and restore groundwater levels. This guide provides a clear overview of

what RWH is, why it matters, how it works, and what it costs. What is RWH? Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) refers to the practice of collecting and storing rainwater for use or directing it into

the ground to replenish groundwater. This can be achieved through two main…

The monsoon is just settling in to Bengaluru, however, the city is already under water, and residents are blaming the crumbling infrastructure and haphazard development in the city for the

widespread waterlogging. Tractors and boats were engaged to rescue people stranded in flood-hit areas. Many companies have asked their employees to work from home, as many parts of the IT

corridor were inundated. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Lokayukta has said that official negligence and poor inter-agency coordination were the key factors behind Bengaluru's flooding. Read more:

Lack of stormwater drain planning in Bengaluru is a risk factor for future floods Why…

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