Every day, they go for miles, carrying buckets in their hands to manage the household water supply, and managing plastic or earthen pots on their heads—all without having to endure the harsh winters or the sweltering summers.
“It is a daily challenge. Sunita Bhurbade, from Tringalwadi, a tribal community 180 km (112 miles) from Mumbai, India’s financial center, says, “I get so tired that I collapse when I’m done.”
In order to fill her pots, Ms. Bhurbade must travel four to five hours each day back and forth from her closest, dependable water source, a dry lake. She must excavate holes on the side so that the water can naturally filter through because it is unclean.
Women are forced to carry water over great distances for four to five months out of the year since surrounding wells and water sources dry up, the woman claims. Strangely, her hamlet experiences some of the highest rainfall levels in the area.
She frequently complains of weakness, exhaustion, and back and neck pain as a result of this daily grind.
She cannot pursue a paid work, nor can any other woman from her village, due to the everyday hardships.
“They won’t let me come to work in the afternoon, so no one will hire me even as a farm laborer,” she claims.
