Page 58 - Shelter - April 2023

WATER WIVES FOR WATER PIPES

Moving Towards Gender Equality in Context of G20

On a scorching hot summer day in an unknown village in western Maharashtra, the melodious
tinkling of anklets caught my attention. I turned towards the direction of the sound and saw two frail
women heading towards a water well. I enquired from them, as the only living being one could catch
sight of on this hot day were the vultures flying in the sky. In return, the lady pointed towards the
well. I asked them if they had to fetch water from this well often, and the same lady replied, “Both of
us are married to the same man, and we must walk several miles here to fetch water for our family.
We are the ‘paanibais’ (water wives).”It appalled me to see women being reduced to substitute of
water pipes. This crisis of severe water shortage has put them at a higher risk of vulnerability. I
inquired how the women got married to the same man.

“I am named Sarita, which means ‘princess’, but I was never treated as one. Upon turning fifteen,
my parents wed me off to an older, already married man belonging to a high caste. Soon after, I
got pregnant. I could not carry heavy vessels of water anymore, so my husband married again and
Sheela (pointing to the other woman) became the third wife.” told Sarita.

Sheela never spoke a word.

Staring at her, Sarita said, “Once she was the liveliest girl in her village, but on a fateful night, she
was molested. Her parents married her off to the man willing to accept her husband, since he needed
a younger paani bai.” Tears rolled down Sheela’s face as it reminded her of her traumatic childhood.
I cradled her hand, and she placed her other hand over mine.
Sheela finally spoke with teary eyes, “There is a river flowing by, merely 10 kms away from our
village but all of the water supply is diverted somewhere else”. As the hissing of the vultures echoed

in the sky, I saw the women walk towards the well, their two shadows merging into one.
Returning to the bus awaiting me, I opened my research work and started drafting a chapter on the
tales of Sarita and Sheela.

My report highlights the irony of our cities, otherwise known as the ‘Engines of Growth’, using water
meant for village people’s livelihoods and domestic consumption and returning it to rivers, polluted.
Despite all the catchment areas of rivers and dams being built on these rivers being in rural areas, the
bulk of water is supplied to cities due to the disparity between rural and urban areas.

As the moon rose, I concluded the chapter with this observation− ‘There cannot be security of women
without security of access to water.’

Katyayani Malhotra

The writer is a 10 grade student of Birla Vidya Niketan School, Delhi.
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56 HUDCO-HSMI Publication