Life in a Mumbai slum: in Detail

For June, we ware reading Katherine Boo's book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It has been very well-reviewed.

This is a detailed account of life in Annawadi, a half-acre slum of 3,000 people in Mumbai, India. She chose this place because it was "fraught with possibilities". Boo spent years in this slum near the airport and her book is a detailed description of the lives of some of the people who live there, including Asha, a woman who creates problems and then gets people to pay her to solve them; Fatima, who sets herself on fire over a dispute with a neighbor; and Abdul who makes a living selling trash and gets caught up in a murder charge.

From HRW reporting, we know that caste discrimination, accountability of the criminal justice system concerning gender-based violence and political participation, and issues of maternal health care are three key issues. Particularly appropriate for our focus this month, HRW is focusing on the responsibility of the Indian government to protect vulnerable communities--and usually among the most vulnerable in these communities are women. Keep an eye on the HRW India page for press releases and updates.

For a very detailed description of the work Katherine Boo did to write this book, and to read about her background and earlier work (which is impressive) see the New York Times.

In fact, the NYT article also contains a very interesting example of global media streams. In the article, we read an account of how her New Yorker article of 2009 (which she wrote in reaction to the Slumdog Millionaire movie) was translated and read by people in Mumbai: and as she was still doing research for this book, the people in Annawadi heard about it and her approach actually improved her reputation in the slum. Even after the publication of the book, the residents of the slum apparently not only read the book but support and appreciate Katherine Boo's work--despite the fact that her writing exposes some of the most intimate, difficult and painful things in their lives.

Afghanistan: Women Entrepreners

Entrepreneurial spirit is the motivating force behind Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's book about Kamila, a young woman who puts her career goals of being a professor on hold when the Taliban take hold of Kabul. Because of the new rules forbidding women from working outside the home and the ongoing civil war, Kamila's family is split apart and their hope for survival depends on the bravery, inventiveness and skill of Kamila and her young siblings. She starts a dressmaking business in their family home, and turns it into a community hub, training center, and career. She continues her work now, helping to build more businesses run by women.

One of the powerful and inspirational lessons of this story is that Kamila and her family manage this in Kabul, under the Taliban, with no outside help. Not only does the dressmaking business help Kamila's own family, she ends up employing about 100 other neighborhood women and girls. This is for Kamila a conscious decision, based on a sense of responsibility for her community and country as well as for family.

There are a few ways this book builds on insights from previous book club discussions. Kamila's story illustrates the thesis of Half the Sky: that the effect of investing in girls' education and entrepreneurship can be a powerful force, and can help lift entire communities out of poverty. Her story also illustrates how important it is (and how common it is) for women in these restrictive societies to have the support of their husbands, fathers and brothers. We discussed this in the case of Iran most recently. In Kamila's case, her father was a staunch advocate for his daughters, and he insisted that they all complete their education. Her brother worked hard and at personal risk to support her business by working as her escort, helping with the purchase of supplies and with the embroidery work. A male neighbor who worked for the Taliban warned Kamila she needed to be extra careful about Taliban searches in the neighborhood.

We decided to read this book in part because of the HRW report that was just released, "I Had to Run Away", documenting the continued discrimination against women in Afghanistan under laws against "moral crimes". Women who have escaped abusive marriages or who have been raped or forced into prostitution are imprisoned under these laws, instead of being protected from their abusers. This is a particularly useful juxtaposition, I hope. In Kamila's words:

Money is power for women. If women have their own income to bring to the family, they can contribute and make decisions. Their brothers, their husbands, and their entire families will have respect for them... if we can train a woman who never had the chance to study, and she can start her own business, it will be good for the whole family as well as for the community. Her work will create jobs for other people and pay for both her boys and her girls to be educated.

A  few other very notable things in this story:

• the path-breaking work of Samantha Reynolds and the UN Habitat strategy of empowering local women to rebuild their communities
• the business consulting work that is Kamila's new project: Kaweyan
• the international organizations that support entrepreneurs like Kamila: business professionals supporting entrepreneurs in conflict-affected areas such as BPeace; humanitarian organizations that support training for local businesswomen such as Mercy Corps 
• of course, the rigorous reporting and focused advocacy work of HRW