How Underprivileged Women and Marginalised Look Up to their Own Communities or Resist Changes

In north Karnataka's Bijapur, 13-year-old Reshma and her classmates would suffer over the lack of nit even a single functional toilet for girls in their government school. Every month, Reshma and her classmates missed classes during menstruation, often choosing to stay home. Sometimes, however, she used to go home or sit the whole day without drinking water because she didn’t want to use the dirty bathroom. Her stomach might hurt, but she stayed quiet.

It is difficult, as of yet, to imagine the AI lending a helping hand on the grassroots-level change that can actually benefit the underprivileged communities. However, one recent contrary situation offers hope, which took place back in September 2024.

For at least Reshma, it came through the AI-enabled smart toilets. "Earlier, I missed school during my periods. Now, I don't," she says, adding that the "new toilets are clean, automatic, and smell good."  "There’s even a pad vending machine and a place to dispose of them," she says.

Apparently, Reshma's experiences with the new settings prompted her to think that her school was, finally, kind to her, while the motive to not miss the school fostered among other menstruators.

Reshma's experience is not isolated, but the story of many. According to government and NGO reports over the years, improper sanitation has been one of the significant reasons for adolescent girls to drop out or miss school in rural India. Even though menstrual hygiene is discussed in policy circles, it collapses in implementation. 

Recently, the Supreme Court declared menstrual hygiene a fundamental right, mandating the free distribution of sanitary pads in schools. However, there is no mechanism to check the improvements on the ground levels, often making NGOs and social organisations step in.

A child labourer for whom crime was a daily reality

For Delhi-based Ladli Foundation to initiate 'WASH', aimed at installing  AI-enabled Smart Toilets with facilities like automated cleaning systems, air purifiers, pad vending machines, incinerators, cleanliness sensors, that is not the only reason, but a result of systematic and societal challenges oppression that not only Devendra Kumar, the founder of the Foundation and a former child labourer, saw with women while growing up but also faced himself.

"As a child, I saw incidents of substance abuse, domestic violence, people being trafficked, and young girls being placed in risky situations just because there were no other options," he recounts. Kumar lived in a densely populated slum of South Delhi's Dakshinpuri, where poverty, crime, and exploitation were a reality of daily living - which, now, he is aiming to eradicate.

"For me, crime was not a headline, but an experience, forcing children to lose their innocence at an early age. It is through all these experiences that I have developed this understanding about how systemic neglect is a cycle," the 39-year-old, who has also been nominated for the Padma Shri award, adds.

Including women and the marginalised along the way

Quashing the narrative of men being the saviours for the women and the other marginalised communities, like transgender persons, Kumar has been including women from various communities to be part of the initiatives meant to serve them.

Kamini, for instance, who was once denied education after 10th, not only completed her higher education being supported by the organisation, but later also became a volunteer teacher, whose work with the women and marginalised communities earned her international recognition, including the prestigious Diana Award from the UK Government.

Similarly, the mother-in-law and sister-in-law of Jahan Aara from Rajasthan's Daausa have now been advocating in their communities what they were against - vaccines for the children. Aara defied family opposition to make sure that her child received routine vaccinations; however, things changed for the family when her unvaccinated nephew fell gravely ill due to a weakened immune system. It was then that the family could understand how they were the victims of misinformation, and Ladli's health workers remained instrumental in raising awareness. 

Various public health experts state that in communities where healthcare systems are viewed with suspicion embedded in myths, the behavioural change can only be ensured with the help of communities.

The efforts are not so easy, however, as the founder says. "On the social and cultural front, deep-rooted gender biases, transphobia, and the acceptance of exploitation remain strongly impeded. Attitudinal change requires time," he says adding that there are girls and transgender persons who are denied equality at the family level, in schools, and in workplaces.

Socio-cultural constraints 

Talking to Local Samosa, Kumar recalls how there has been minimal trust among the communties fpr those who raised their voices on issues of child education, child protection, and child exploitation. "I  am persuading parents to enrol their daughters in learning centres and not work or marry them early. Many families were struggling financially on a daily basis; education to them was a luxury," he laments while talking about the early days of working in the slums for Laldi Foundation, which started in 2012.

"Then there were threats from local goons whenever someone did not follow accepted social norms, even for a short time," he further adds.

Having said that, Kumar shares that he is currently reaching out to families, addressing concerns, and ensuring acceptance of transgender inclusion, as well as ensuring education results in dignity and employment. 

When Kajal (16), Muskaan (14), and Sumit (13) from Delhi’s Sangam Vihar lost both parents to Covid-19 within a year, their schooling had to come to a halt. "I thought our education was over,"  Muskaan recalls, adding, "We didn’t even have notebooks or devices."

Kumar's organisation intervened in coordination with the Child Welfare Committee to offer house rent, provided them with monthly groceries, and helped restore their education through digital tablets.

"I want to become a police officer so I can take care of my brother and sister," Muskaan shares.

How systematic gaps affect

But the gap, especially, between education and jobs is quite evident, and Kumar shares how that is a major concern. "Even though there are policies for enrollment and literacy, there are no policies for skill development after schooling, and this applies to marginalised children because they cannot send their children to college," he says.

"For trans people, for instance, there is intent with respect to policies, but the infrastructure to support this is poor," says, referring to the lack of access to digital technology, safe and open learning spaces, and inclusive institution infrastructure.

Understanding how challenges exist on both micro and macro levels, hence, Kumar says, "It all started with the intention to do whatever one could do for children with limited resources, arranging books, tuition classes, counselling the parents, and saving children from exploitative circumstances. (But) over the years, I realised that the effort had to be more organised, as these issues cannot be addressed individually."