1. Only 3.7% of the GDP is allocated to education. If you’re lucky enough to have a school, you may not have a building, books, or basic amenities such as drinking water. 37% of schools do not have functional toilets. Often understaffed, it is estimated that 12 lakh teachers are needed to address overcrowded classrooms. Poverty, caste, and gender are significant determinants of access to education. Children from minority communities, including girls, Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits, are least likely to attend school and have the highest rate of dropouts.
2. Mithlesh Kumari is the only regular teacher at Shikandarpur Jhugi Jhopadi Primary School in Shikandarpur village, Patna district, Bihar. Although 64 students are enrolled, only 20-25 students attend school. She feels that many children drop out due to social discrimination and poverty.
3. Kalmi, in Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan is a remote village without a health center or electricity. To get in or out of the village, its 27 families spend an hour and a half walking through the forest or 40 minutes by catamaran. Without a school building, the kids gather under a tree for classes.
4. In 2002, the Rajasthan government sanctioned a primary school to Mandakala village in Pratapgarh district, and appointed one teacher. Since there was no building, Kalu Meena, a villager, converted half of his mud house into a school. 55 students attend school at his house 5 days a week, while he rests during class.
5. Gender inequality in India begins with its child sex ratio, one of the lowest worldwide, at 914 girls per 1000 boys. Unprotected by labour laws, women are paid lower wages for comparable jobs. Although 41.5% of the agricultural workforce is women, the government only recognises women landowners as farmers. As of 2012, the National Crimes Record Bureau reports an increase in cases of violence against women. Violence against women and girls impacts their access to rights and opportunities. Those in rural areas, and of minority communities, such as Muslims, tribals, and Dalits, are most vulnerable. Gender inequality persists in the political system, as women constitute hardly 10% of parliamentarians, despite a 33% reservation.
6. In 2012, Prema Sheela, from Mahasamund district, Chhattisgarh, married Rajendra Acharya. Her husband used to watch porn films and force Prema to do the same in bed, even if she was ill. When she refused, he would threaten her with a knife. On 9th June 2013, he kicked her out of the house. Prema moved back to her mother’s house and filed for divorce in September 2013. Rajendra bribed officials to prove Prema is not his wife, claiming that she was his domestic help.
7. In 2001, a priest in Lechkera Village, Gariyaban District, Chhattisgarh pronounced Tirit Bai Sahu, Bisahin Nishad, and a third woman witches. The next morning, the panchayat men forced them to parade through the village naked, beat them with sticks, urinated on them, gave them electric shock, and finally left them outside the village. After an FIR was filed against the panchayat, 19 men were arrested and released on bail. They have not faced any repercussions since.
8. In July 2014, Ramela Bai, from Mandakala village, Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan, was 9 months pregnant with her 8th child. After an hour-long ride on a dirt road to the nearest health center 10 km away in Dhariyawad, she was prescribed painkillers and sent home. That same day, she gave birth at home using a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord and thin cotton thread to tie the end. All of these difficulties did not stop her from having her 8th child; she did not have control over her body.
9. Sananda Naik, a daily wage labourer and father of 4 from Brahaminiguda village, Kalahandi District, Odisha, earns Rs. 100 a day. In October 2013, he contracted malaria and was admitted to the Junagarh heath center. Despite having a Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana card, he had to pay for his medicines, reflecting the gap between the systems in place and actuality.
10. Poor access to public services determines poverty. Plummeting public investment in healthcare widens inequalities and perpetuates poverty. World Bank reports over 40% of those hospitalised in India have to borrow or sell assets to meet the cost of treatment. On average, they spend more than half of their annual expenditure on healthcare. The meagre 1.2% of the GDP spent on health covers less than 25% of total healthcare spending. No wonder 25% of child deaths and 20% of maternal deaths in the world occur in India..
11. Family members help a pregnant woman of Mohanpur Village get off from an auto rickshaw in front of the Maner Primary Health Center in Patna district, Bihar. The Center is understaffed and lacks sanitation and proper equipment. Family members are often asked to help with deliveries.
12. Vasta Meena, of Kalmi Village, Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan, is a traditional healer with expertise on medicinal plants in the forest. This remote village does not have a health center. People rely on his special tree roots when bitten by a snake or scorpion. Although he saves many lives, people like Vasta Meena and their knowledge are not recognised
13. Children on the streets of Delhi
14. Urban poverty in big cities
15. Lack of basic medical support
16. Sustaining life on the streets in a big city
A few extra images of day to day inequalities in India...
About the photographer: SRIKANTH KOLARI
Indian Photo Journalist, represented by REDUX Photo Agency, NY and selected for the prestigious Visa pour l’image 2012, Perpignan, France 2012 and Angkor Photo Festival 2012, Siem Reap, Cambodia spends his time travelling Asia working in conflict afflicted regions and covering individuals and cultural groups affected by war, poverty and prejudice. His personal projects have been exhibited in Scotland, Croatia, Italy, France, Belgium and Cambodia as well as in many solo shows across India. Kolari’s work was chosen for Twenty Best Solo Exhibitions of India by The Škoda Prize for Indian Contemporary Art 2011 and Kolari was Winner of The Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Programme 2011.
We focus on ensuring access to quality and affordable health and education for all
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