Women’s shelter homes in Delhi cry for attention

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, february 1

Considering the harsh winter Delhi witnessed in the first month of 2024, women’s shelter homes across the city should have been brimming with inmates.

But that is not the case. A ground check reveals that the 19 shelter homes for women, which boast of a capacity of 1,220 women, barely have 512 inmates. The lack of adequate sanitation, security, drinking water and official apathy are among the top reasons keeping women away from shelter homes.

At in the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib shelter home, Vaishnavi (21) says the complex was meant to protect them from harsh winter conditions, but it is marked by unhealthy living conditions.

The premises are dotted by 14 tents and seven porta-cabins with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) under the Delhi Government in charge of administration.

“I have been living here with my mother for some years now, but the conditions have not improved in even one bit,” says Vaishnavi.

“We can’t pay a rent and therefore live here. The food they send is not good. It is usually potato curry on most of the days. Many of us prefer langar at the gurdwara,” Vaishnavi says.

Anju (27), another inmate, says the staff at the shelter home don’t clean toilets, which are anyway not fully functional.

“The toilets have no water source and are dirty. The shelter has two assigned sweepers to clean the whole area, but only one cleans the complex outside,” rues Anju.

She added that during rains the area gets flooded.

“The lockers are so small, nothing fits in. We have to keep belongings on the bed or underneath it,” Anju says, adding that the provision of sanitary pads for women inmates was discontinued a while ago.

The situation is no better at the female shelter home in Jama Masjid’s Urdu Bazaar, which also presents safety concerns. It has two porta cabins of which only one has beds. However, in contrast to most shelters, it has 50 inmates with beds for only 20.

All women inmates at the Jama Masjid shelter cite safety issues with only one guard deployed — Khushnuma (23) who is filling in for her sick husband.

Binu (30), an inmate, recalls recent incidents at the shelter home and says, “Recently we heard of a person’s throat being slit and a four-year-old being raped in a park adjacent to our shelter home. Some people also stole a newborn from a mentally ill mother. In these conditions, it is really tough for us to keep our daughters and ourselves safe.”