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India Trip - 2016 - Village near Jodhpur - Page 2

Now this is the weirdest cottage industry we have seen!

Hard to believe the government would support the craft!

It's a poppy processing cottage industry

Above he is showing us how Opium is extracted....

Then we are offered a hit!

He samples each and every extraction as quality control......

The Eyes tell it all

He certainly isn't in pain!

Wild antelope range in the rural areas here..... 

These women are returning to their village after working under a Government run rural development project

This scheme (one of many apparently) is run for single women

Women here largely have no status

Here are a couple of case studies I found.......

Two Stories

The first case involves a young pretty mother who was living with her son in a small hut. Her husband had earlier abandoned her, and she was not able to return to her parents as they considered her "unworthy." One morning, she accompanied two men from the city who promised employment for her in the Middle East following an interview at an office somewhere, only to be gang raped and then returned to her village after a few days. Her absence was noticed by her neighbours, who blamed her for the outcome and accused her for the separation from her husband. Feeling shame, and finding that she could no longer live in the community, she set herself on fire with kerosene.

The second story is about a middle-aged woman whose husband had more than one "wife," a common practice in rural India though not officially allowed. One of his wives contracted AIDS somehow, and while her illness had become generally known, he continued to have sexual relationship with his other wives. He made no effort to medically test or to take adequate protection measures for himself or his other women, and soon all involved contracted the disease. These two real life stories represent the endless number of lives lost from ignorance, the low status of women and their inability to control their destiny.