After spending a night at a raen basera in Jama Masjid, Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal has decided to send a notice to DUSIB (Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board) to explain the reason for lapses and their preparedness for homeless women in winters. Highlighting the condition of night shelters, the Commission pointed out that these raen baseras are extremely unsafe for women and lack security.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal along with other member Sarika Chaudhary and two volunteers -Jyoti Mala and Meenu visited three night shelters on Saturday run by DUSIB in Nizamuddin and Jama Masjid. The Commission, therefore, concluded that the night shelters are not only few in numbers but are also extremely unsafe for women.
In Nizamuddin and Jama Masjid night shelters, male and female night shelters are adjacent to each other in the same complex with no security restrictions. Moreover the toilets are very few and no separate ones for women.
In Jama Masjid night shelter, only one lady caretaker is posted throughout the night while the rest are male guards. “In the night, at the Jama Masjid night shelter where DCW team slept, it was observed that friends of the male guards kept pouring in throughout the night. The family shelter at Jama Masjid was really shocking as there was no separation between families, not even a simple veil," said a member of the Commission.
As against their promise to provide security through camera lens, no CCTV cameras have been established within the shelters. In fact, the entire Jama Masjid area between the two shelters has several high mast lights but none are working.
"In Jama Masjid area, several women were sleeping outside the shelter in the open. A mentally ill woman was identified whom other residents of the shelter had thrown her out. We tried to restore the lady inside the shelter as she also had a 1 month old baby. We also met an acid attack victim sleeping in the open. Many of the women we met were drug addicts. All need to be shifted inside the Shelters. There is a need of one more women shelter in Jama Masjid right now. This number will increase in winters," said a member.