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A 10ftx10ft room, with bright pink walls, one of the walls covered with shelves full of sarees and lingerie. This is the new shop that RamiyaBarse owns, this is the kingdom of her dreams. But just a few years ago, all she had was one saree – torn and dirty – as her sole possession. Her husband Dinesh, did not leave any scope for her to take any other belongings.

According to National Family Health Survey more than 68% of the women in Bastar are anaemic. Most women belong to the Gond tribes, followed closely by the Halba and Dhurua tribes.

Women in Bandih village, were allowed to defecate only at dawn and after dusk. The nearest bushy area where they could get some respite from the onlookers’ intrusive eyes and pervasive remarks was three kilometers away from their huts.

The local quack pulled up Fulchand’s right eye-lid and stared at it for a few seconds. There wasn’t any sign of life. The quack swung his head in negation and silently left the hut. Siyabati’s vision got blurred. That a day would come in her life when the hands she depended upon blindly will no longer be there for her, was something that Siyabati had never imagined.

Have you ever been to Zawar area in Udaipur? Probably not. Situated a few kilometres from the highway connecting Udaipur to Ahmedabad, Zawar has a difficult and hilly terrain, sparsely dotted with village cottages.