Visited some markets today with the help of my friend Minhazz.
I am looking at everyday objects related to women, such as combs, mirrors, hair ornaments etc.
I was intrigued by some of the objects I found in the Museum of Everyday Art here at Sanskriti Kendra and particularly the objects in the glass cases relating to women’s beauty.
Minhazz took me to a street that just sells wedding related objects. Hundreds of stalls selling everything for the Indian bride, lots of gold and ornate jewellery and beautiful saris.
We watched young women as their hands were being painted with intricate patterns of henna.
In contrast to this wedding street, I have spent some time researching charities that work for the improvement of womens lives here. Their is a charity called Asha, it works in the slums here in Delhi and provides support for the poorest and most disadvantaged.
I was reading some of the statistics on their website.
It states that a quarter of all Indian girls do not live past the age of 15, a third of these deaths occur before a girl reaches her first birthday.
It also stated that nearly 2 in every 3 women in India are illiterate and that a girl between the ages of 1 and 5 years old is 50% more likely to die than boys here in India.
It also has the highest incidence of under 5 deaths in the world.
