What would happen, if there were no slums at all? Would urbanization continue to function as it does?

Urban areas, defined as densely populated areas with a high proportion of non-agricultural workers, are typically characterized by high levels of economic activity and access to amenities and services. Here the living conditions are quite satisfactory and with better job opportunities.

In contrast, slums are often found on the outskirts of cities and are characterized by poor housing, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to basic services such as clean water and sanitation.

But the question is,

Can The Urban Cities Run Without The Slum Dwellers?

It is unlikely that urban cities can function without the contributions of the individuals and families living in slums. Many slum dwellers work in various sectors including construction, manufacturing, and domestic work, providing essential labour that helps drive the economy of the city.

Slums majorly dominate urban people’s everyday lives, without them, their hectic lives become more tricky. It becomes very difficult for them to make a balance between their working life and their personal life.

Yes, it is common to see slums located near urban cities as a result of rural poor migrating to urban areas in search of better job opportunities and facilities. The high cost of living in urban areas and the lack of affordable housing options often lead to these individuals and families becoming trapped in overcrowded and inadequate housing, such as small, cramped apartments.

The lack of access to basic necessities like clean water and sanitation, coupled with limited economic opportunities, can make life in these slums very difficult. This often leads to a divide between the urban and slum areas, with limited interaction and understanding between the two groups.

However, without the resilience of slum dwellers, the city would crumble.

Life In Urban Cities Without Slums

There is no denying that urban slums have increased the burden on cities. Earlier people used to search for opportunities in the agriculture sector and in rural areas. Now slums act as a magnet for the rural poor to attract them toward city life.

India has a significant problem with urban slums, with 17% of the population living in slums, which accounts for 64 million people. Mumbai, in particular, has a high population of slum dwellers, with 41.3% of the population living in slums.

Dharavi, which is located in Mumbai, is the largest slum in Asia. The shortage of land and a high number of job seekers are major factors contributing to the growth of slums in urban areas.

Slums are indeed a complex challenge for both the government and urban populations. On the one hand, they present a range of social and economic problems such as poverty, overcrowding, inadequate housing and sanitation, and limited access to basic services and opportunities.

While in contrast, slums also play an important role in the functioning of urban areas by providing a source of labour, goods, and services.

Urban life is very busy and hectic, in which the household barely finds time for household things like cooking, house cleaning, etc. This is often due to the demands of work and other responsibilities, which make it difficult for people to manage their time effectively.

Whereas, many slum dwellers are looking for work in order to support their families and make ends meet in the expensive urban environment.

To make life easy for busy urban, slum dwellers enrolled in many works. Some of them are self-employed and pull rickshaws day-night and some of them clean roads which help urban enjoy a fresh morning walk.

Many females from these slum areas work as a babysitter and maids, and do household work like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, etc. Also, we see many street vendors who sell delicious street foods like Panipuri (water balls), Momos (Dumplings), Vada paw, running Small Dhabas, etc. They also work as a milkman, vegetable sellers, laundry, newspaperman, electricians, plumbers, construction workers, etc.

You may underestimate these slum people but in fact, they are the people behind the smooth functioning of Urban life.

The Daily Challenges of Slum Life

Despite having job opportunities and living a city life, slum dwellers are facing huge problems in day-to-day life. They work day and night to earn good wages and to provide a better life for their children. But then there are also enormous issues like basic healthcare, affordable houses, quality education, water sanitation, etc.

Lack of basic amenities

It’s a huge challenge for them to get drinkable water and proper sanitation. Many a time they face a shortage of electricity and healthcare facilities. They often face the problem of clean roads and drainage systems. Their houses are filled with rainwater during monsoons which create diseases like flu and dengue. It’s an irony that those people who clean roads for others are deprived of these basic things themselves.

Overcrowded rooms and locality

Due to the shortage of land & space in an urban area and high property cost, these slum people are bound to live in low-space areas. Often 5 to 6 members live in a single room where they cook, sleep and live.

Poor Education

Most of the slum dwellers are not in a position to send their children to a good school. And due to the high living costs in urban cities, many of them don’t send their children to schooling. We can see small children working in a house as a sweeper or a waiter in hotels which also contributes to child labour issues in developing countries.

Inadequate healthcare system

Slum dwellers often suffer from various health issues such as HIV, cancer, flu, and tuberculosis, due to cramped and unsanitary living conditions. They lack access to proper and affordable healthcare to address these issues.

Despite facing many challenges, slum dwellers consistently strive to improve their living conditions and make their lives better.

There is a clear intersection between these two scenarios, where busy urban people need help with household chores and slum dwellers are looking for jobs to support their families.

There is a win-win situation for both of them by creating employment opportunities for slum dwellers to work as domestic helpers for urban households, thus providing a source of income for slum dwellers and helping to ease the burden of household tasks for urban residents.

In the midst of chaos, the slums stand strong, the unsung heroes of the urban jungle

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The post The Unseen Contribution of Slum Dwellers to Urban Life appeared first on Aspiring Blog.

Tobacco was used as medicine earlier but after the invention of cigarettes, it has become common among us. It has become so common in the world that it has made its own space for the household spending on basic needs, such as food, shelter, and now tobacco.

Smoking is so common and feels so familiar, that it can be hard to grasp just how large the impact is. According to WHO ( World Health Organization), around 1.3 billion people worldwide use tobacco products. Among them, 80% of whom are in low-income and middle-income countries. Tobacco is used in two ways, smokeless and by smoking. Among them, China is the leading user of smokers with 300.8 million users and India has the highest number at 274.9 million users of smokeless tobacco.

The tobacco epidemic is killing more than 8 million people a year around the world and more than 7 million death are caused by the direct use of tobacco. There are various forms of tobacco, for instance:- Cigarette smoking, Cigars, roll-your-own tobacco, Bidis, and kreteks. An addictive product has a long history after becoming so common among us. But, from where was it initiated? Let’s do a little sneak peek into history.

A Sneak Peek Into the History of Tobacco & Its Use

Tobacco was first discovered by the native people of Mesoamerica and South America and later introduced to Europe and the rest of the world. Archeological studies found that the use of tobacco started around the 1st century BC when the MAYA people of Central America used tobacco leaves for smoking in sacred and religious ceremonies. Later, it spread as much as high to Mississippi valley. The migration of people was also one of the major causes of the spreading of tobacco in the world.

They used to introduce tobacco in marriage rituals and later it became an addiction. There is one of the incidents that happened in history when Columbus arrived on a new continent in 1492. The Native Americans brought gifts of fruits, food, and many more things. Along with all the gifts, he saw one nonedible dried leaf in the gift and it had a distinct smell.

Soon Columbus realized that dried leaves are a beloved possession among them as they swapped with them and offered them as a gift.

In India tobacco was introduced by the Portuguese in 1605, Portuguese used to plant tobacco in nearly all of their trading outpost, and the same happened with India. Initially, tobacco was grown in the Kaira and Mehsana Districts of Gujrat and later it spread all over the country.

Tobacco became a commercial crop till the 19th century. Tobacco became more popular after the invention of the cigarette-making machine by James Bonsack in 1881. Also, cigarettes gained much popularity during World War 1 and World War 2, when tobacco companies sent millions of packets to the soldier. It was included as a ration named C-ration which contains food including cigarettes for soldiers.

Why Tobacco is a Matter of Concern Now?

Earlier used as a medication purpose to become the most addictive substance, it has traped billions of people around the globe. Tobacco companies are gaining heavy profit by putting the lives of others under threat. According to the survey, it is estimated that around 35% of the males smoke daily and now even females are not lesser than that.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of tobacco has seen a rapid increase among youngsters. Around 1 to 4 high school, students used tobacco products in the previous 30 days in 2018. They use e-cigarettes mostly in the form of tobacco and it has increased from 11% to 20.8% among high school students.

Although e-cigarette is banned in India, consumption of tobacco over flavored cigarettes has seen a sudden rise. Methanol Cigarettes are flavored Cigarettes that reduce the harshness and give a reduced smell. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), around 80% of black smokers use methanol cigarettes compared to 30% of white smokers.

Cigarette smoking is a carcinogenic mixture of more than 7000 chemicals that badly affects the body. A carcinogenic is a substance, organism, or agent that is responsible for causing cancer.

Tobacco Epidemic: A Threat for Non-Smokers Too

World Health Organization says in its report that cigarettes smoke not only affects the person who smokes but also those who don’t. Among 7 million death of those who are direct tobacco users, 1.2 million death are the result of Second-hand smoke.

Second-Hand smoke is the smoke that fills encircled areas when people burn tobacco products. As a result, almost half of the children regularly breathe polluted air from tobacco smoke. 65,000 children died every year from second-hand smoke. Also, pregnancy complications have been seen in pregnant women after the direct consumption of smoke or either by Second-Hand smoke.

One lady shared her experience with smoking during pregnancy and that, she had a huge addition of smoke. She could hardly quit smoking, and during her pregnancy period, she used to smoke 10 cigarettes a day. Doctors advised her to quit smoking immediately because it can harm her child.

After 34 weeks she found in a scan that her child was not growing for 2 weeks and her placenta was beginning to fail. In the few days after the baby was born, she found that her baby was very fastidious. And after 2 years her baby suffered from eczema and seemed to have a poor immune system.

Also, history says that tobacco has continuously been used as a weapon to fall against the enemy by putting them into an addiction to tobacco. To Increase the trade of tobacco and book a higher profit, tobacco-producing countries often introduced it to them. Earlier China and India were never the tobacco user countries. During the ’90s tobacco companies introduced them by putting tobacco into the tea. China natives found tea as an addictive element and later they found that it was tobacco that makes them highly addictive. But was too late to find out a solution because the demand for tobacco expanded significantly in China.

Today China is the leading user of tobacco products in terms of smoke with more than 300.8 million active users.

Control It Before It Controls You

Tobacco has become so big nowadays that simply banning it wouldn’t be enough. It is also a major source of income for tobacco farmers. Afghanistan’s tobacco farmers which are now under the control of the Taliban still depend much on tobacco farming because of attractive wages, compared to other commodities, as it improves their Income. It is sad to say that tobacco is running the country’s economy along with putting the life of natives under threat. Major economies like China is the leading producer of tobacco at the same time as the leading consumer.

Addiction to tobacco is so dangerous that a person can barely avoid the habit once comes under its jaws. There are lots of medicine available in the market that claim to be efficient to get rid of tobacco. But we assume it will hardly work until you want to shift your mindset on your own.

Excessive consumption of Tobacco has been seen as frequent in people who are taking much strain and are in a depression. They used to smoke for instant relief but soon it becomes part of their life.

There is also another way that might help you get rid of tobacco addiction. You must try to change your surrounding. A good company of good people will change your way of thinking and might influence you to be on the right path. There is a famous quote by Booker J Washington- “Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company“.

Also, we would like to suggest to you that reading habits might stimulate your brain towards productive things rather than these fruitless addictions. Books always uplift your motivation whenever you are sad and will be your best friend while others are busy in this busy world.

 Habits can have a significant impact on one’s life, choose wisely.

Our Mailing Address – Namaskar@theblogera.com

The post Global Tobacco Epidemic: A Rising Concern appeared first on Aspiring Blog.

“I’m a Boy that was born as a Girl,

and has to prove myself every day

that I am man enough for the world”

The above quote isn’t just a word together; it has a lot of pain behind it, an inspiration, and a message for all of us.

In a country where there is a lot of social injustice exists, people are assessed by their appearances. Among us, there is one group that is the worst treated and the most ignorant of all. The discrimination against them is still in abundance. But one person from that community, known as the ‘third gender’ took a stand and became an inspiration.

In this part of our Unsung Heroes series, I’m going to talk about a fearless, enthusiastic, optimistic human being named ‘Joyita Mondal‘. Born in a Hindu family in Kolkata, West Bengal.  Joyita was named ‘Joyonto’ (a male) initially. However, after a while, when she got to know about her identity as a transgender, she hid it from our society, but eventually came out against all the odds.

According to the 2011 census, there are around 5 million transgender people in India, most of whom are victimised by society. People judged them as sex workers and only called them in the auspicious events to congratulate and give blessings.

But no one ever wants to know their tragic stories and what they are going through with all the nuisance and hatred.

Whereas Joyita Mondal chooses her own way to be a symbol of inspiration. Let us unfold her story from school dropout to India’s First Transgender Judge.

Joyita Mondal’s Early Life And Discrimination

Joyita Mondal’s life is no less than a miserable life, with lots of discrimination, hate, failure, perhaps she was strong enough to never let her morale down. At the age of 10, she found her interest in wearing clothes like girls, playing with dolls, and every girly thing.

However, she was not supposed to do that because she was born a boy. And her family was not expecting that opposite behaviour from her side. She revealed, “I would dress as a girl when I went outside and change before the house I returned”.

Her anguish can be examined by knowing that she dropped out of school after the 10th class because she was unable to conform to the gender norms imposed on her. She was bullied all the time because of her appearance.

Often time she kept hiding her identity and her liking for girly things from society.

Recalling the tough time, she said, “I didn’t tell my family that I was unable to take verbal bullying by other boys in my school. I just told my mother that I had got a job in Dinajpur, and I wanted to go there. I told her that I would come back in two months if things didn’t work out, and she consented”.

However, she lied and came to Islampur in the Uttar Dinajpur district and never went back. Her problems hadn’t halted yet, she was suffering from basic needs like food, shelter & health.

Nobody there was ready to give her a room in the hotel because of the typical stereotypes, and also prohibited her from entering the restaurants even after she was ready to pay.

Doctors refused to give her proper treatment because she was from another group. Police refused to file a complaint and insulted her in the police station, calling her undisciplined and dishonest. 

All these things shattered her from inside, but her dreams were bigger than these hurdles. Afterwards, she decided to start a new journey and fight against the social injustice that prevails for these people.

From School Dropout To India’s First Transgender Judge

When approximately every hotel refused to give her a hotel room, she made the nearest bus stop a shelter. She used to sleep at night there and sometimes also begged on the streets for food.

Later, she decided to join Kinnar Samaj (a group of trans people), where she started to go to parties and big events to earn money. In India, people treat their arrival and blessings as good luck, but never pay respect to them. The discrimination and ignorance still threaten the survival and livelihoods of the community.

Moreover, many transgender people go to a marriage function or birth anniversaries to give blessings for getting some money in return. The same became the daily schedule for Joyita, but her goal was different.

She decided to complete her education first, which she chose to take her education through correspondence. Because the earlier hate and mockery against her by her classmates had shattered her badly. She got herself a Law degree.

But that was not enough to break the stereotypical thinking of the society. She decided to work for the welfare of people, especially for the community to which she belongs.

She later started an organisation with her local transgender friend’s name, Dinajpur Noton Alo Society, on January 10, 2010, which helped thousands of people in the district.

Over the seven years after the inception of Dinajpur Noton Alo society (also known as Dinajpur New Light), it has grown to help over 2000 transgender people in the region. After the commendable success of her organisation, her confidence was boosted to new heights, and she decided to expand her social work further.

In an interview, she said, “A year after registration in 2011, I got my first big break in a foreign project for legal aid to transgender of the region in 2012. I gave legal aid to 200 transgender people during that project, and was appreciated by the government. Since then, we built an old-age shelter in 2015 and got voter ID cards made for transgender people in two brothels in Islampur”.

It’s amazing to know that Joyita Mondal is the first transgender person to get a voter ID card in her district. Also, she is the first transgender person to vote in the elections from her district.

Legal Right To Transgender In India Gave Joyita Mondal A New Hope

After having a legal right to trans people in India, many transgender people got a new hope to achieve their dreams. They can now plan their life according to themselves, and they can now move freely. I remember that one famous quote from MANABI BANDYOPADHYAY that sheds light on the above revolution:

“Be Yourself, The World Will Adjust”

Manabi BAndyopadhyay

The Transgender Person (Protection Of Right) Act, 2019 (Transgender Person Act) seeks to recognise the identity of a transgender person and prohibit discrimination in, inter alia, the fields of education, employment, healthcare, holding or disposing of property, holding public or private office and access to and use of public services and benefits.

In light of the above law, the Indian government decided to appoint Joyita Mondal as the First Transgender Judge of Islampur Lok Adalat (Civil Court) in July 2017.

It’s exciting that earlier she used to spend restless bedtimes in the bus stand, and now she is the judge of the Lok Adalat, which is just 10 minutes away from that same bus stand.

However, Joyita’s motive is much bigger than being a Justice; she wants to break the stereotypical mentality of society towards transgender people. She said, “A handful of us becoming judges, principals won’t bring a change. Still, Transgenders are working as sex workers and begging on trains, individual success means nothing”.

Also read: The Dark Side of Sex Workers’ Lives

Her dream is to provide education to other transgender individuals and urge the government to appoint them at least as a group D staff, where physical labour is involved. She said, “Even if 2-3% of transgender people in Islampur get dignified jobs, I would consider my appointment as beneficial for my community. They would not have to work as sex Workers for 200-300 Rs and begging on a train or streets”.

Heroes like Joyita Mondal not only inspire us but also give a light of hope to the vulnerable section of India, who have been fighting for their rights for decades. Not only Joyita Mondal but also many transgender also work for their community. Like Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the first transgender Ph.D. professor of India. Padmini Prakash, the first Tamil TV news anchor. Kalki Subramaniam, an International speaker, trans activist, and many more.

But still, society won’t recognise the crucial part they’re playing, still, some stereotypical thinking keeps them ignorant and vulnerable. Why transgender is still a punishment?

Hope everyone will teach their child, they’re not different, they are as human as us.

Source:

• Meet the First Transgender judge of India– Womensenews.org
• From sleeping in bus stand to first transgender Judge– Drilers.com

Do let us know about the Unsung heroes you know that are doing or did tremendous work for the betterment of society. We’ll be glad to do more research about them and will write a tribute dedicated to them.

The post First Transgender Judge Of India – Joyita Mondal appeared first on Aspiring Blog.