On August 15, while houses hoisted flags, Malti rushed at the crack of dawn to the public tap 500 metres away before residents swarmed the place. Water supply lasts only two hours, twice a day, for a village shy of 10,000 residents. Even if Malti gets ahead in line, there is no guaranteed supply. She makes four-five trips home, carrying 10-12 vessels of water in less than an hour. She repeats the process in the evening to sufficiently provide for her low-income household comprising her husband, two sons, and in-laws. Like Malti, 75% of women across India undertake such time-consuming efforts every day to ensure their families have water (NFHS-5). But drudgery does not end here. The remaining hours are spent securing fuel and caregiving — gendered responsibilities that shackle them further to their homes. For these women, freedom is relief from domestic drudgery, from doing repetitive tasks out of no choice owing to socio-cultural norms and limited access to resources like water, fuel and household appliances.
Shackled to their homes
Malti’s daily drill was no different when India turned 50. As a pre-teen on the cusp of getting married, she queued up for an hour with her mother before it was their turn at the hand pump. If the hand pump was broken/empty, they walked 2.5 kilometres to the public well that promised longer queues and worse quality, losing four-five hours to collect water (National Commission for Women Report, 2005). The private wells of upper-caste neighbours, though nearby, continue to be out of reach. Purchasing water or waiting for the unreliable tanker, though costly, are the only alternatives.
