HYDERABAD: The recent incident of two minor ragpicker girls being sexually assaulted by a 35-year-old man in Bachupally has left many repulsed and angry. Several child rights activists in the city claim that this isn’t an isolated incident and that a lot of cases go unreported due to the dismissive attitude of authorities.
Around 70,000 ragpickers reside in the city. Of them, at least 30 per cent are women, mostly minors, claims reports. Activists say that women working as ragpickers are among the most vulnerable to sexual assaults due to the nature of their occupation.
“Ragpickers start their work very early in the morning or late in the night so that they can segregate recyclable waste before the municipality officials transport it to the dumping yard. Many girls take to this line of work to support their poor families. The nature of their jobs forces these women to work in isolated areas during odd hours of the day, putting themselves at risk of sexual assault,” said Sr Lizzy from National Workers Movement. The organisation runs schools for ragpicker children.
She added, “There have been instances in the past where the police have dismissed such complaints. The victims are subjected to character assassination and are often insulted.” Renuka, another activist, said that more often than not, the victims themselves don’t want to file complaints as they’re scared of the police and their abuser.Ragpickers help clean up a significant proportion of the city’s waste every day.