Health problems specific to women

While interviewing women in each of the relief camps, team members specifically asked them about their own health problems. These discussions demonstrated that existing services did not acknowledge women's health needs. Also, the lack of privacy in camp health services prevents them from seeking such treatment. In one of the rural camps, women told us that many Muslim families had fled to Rajasthan for first few days, and received medical treatment in the hospital there. However, several women reported moderate to severe RTIs to the team – because the hospital had not treated these problems.

Women expressed a strong demand for a woman gynaecologist to visit them. However, there is no effort to make existing services more accessible to women.

Hygiene related problems: Hygiene-related problems are noticeable among women. Especially, in the rural areas, many women have reproductive and urinary tract infections. Several cases of polymenorrhea (shortened menstrual cycles), dysmenorrhea (painful menses) and menstrual irregularity were encountered among women inmates in the camps which visited by the team. The onset of these problems seemed to be related to the violence and shifting to the camps. The severe psychological and physical stress which women have undergone is likely to be responsible for such changes. Chronic vaginal discharge (vaginal infections) was also reported by several women. Women also require sanitary napkins.

Pregnant and lactating women: Hundreds of women have given birth in the camps, assisted largely by local volunteers, and without any facilities. These women, as well as those in curfew-bound areas, are not in a position to seek special health services. Although there is official provision for supplementary food for pregnant and lactating women, the team did not see any such provision in the camps it visited. A few women who had delivered recently were residing in the camps. Camp volunteers informed the team that it was extremely difficult to care for them in the open camps while living in tents. Milk powder supplied to families was used for children, infants as well as pregnant women. A dai expressed her concern for the pregnant and lactating women. She had assisted in many of the deliveries. In fact, people from the neighbouring areas prepare sira, a healthy diet for mothers. However, they cannot not sustain it for long, because they too are not earning these days. The dai felt that more nutrition and vitamins ('shakti ka botal') were needed.

There is no provision for bathing in the tents itself and pregnant women and new mothers must use the bathrooms used by the rest of the camp. One can only imagine how difficult it must have been to care for newly delivered mothers and neonates. In one camp, the team was told that the tent used to house new mothers had become overcrowded because several women delivered at the same time.

We are grateful to the camp inmates, organisers and the volunteers working in the relief camps for all the information they shared with us.

We would like to thank friends Sandhya Srinivasan, Nandita Bhatla and Ranjan De for their help in the process of editing, layout, cover design and final production of the report.