A large section of women in India are out of the banking system, and the currency withdrawal has hit them hard.
The helpline rang all day at the women’s crisis centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday. Counsellors took calls from women wondering what to do with their hard-earned savings after Prime Minister Narenda Modi in a surprise television address to the nation the night before had announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
News of sensational income-tax raids and scenes from Bollywood films suggest that only corrupt businessmen and builders hoard cash. But in a country where an estimated 80% of women are not part of the banking system and 95% of transactions are still done in cash, many women save all their money in cash, often without anyone else knowing about it. It buys them food for their children, medicines when they fall ill. And for those who are victims of abuse, it is a much needed safety net.
But now, the demonetisation has not just left them with a cash crunch, it may have also laid bare their secret saving strategies – to their peril.
“…Cash is a lifeline for women, particularly those who are being abused,” said Shivani Singh, the chief counsellor at the Bhopal crisis centre. “Without money, they have no way to plan an escape, to file a case, or to just take an auto to a police station or to a chemist to buy medicines.”
Singh said counsellors at the centre helped women open bank accounts almost every day, but it was not always the most practical strategy. “Many of the women who come to us are uneducated,” she said. “It’s not a question of filling out forms for them, but the fact that even entering a bank is an intimidating and hostile experience.”
The story resonates across the country.
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