Lifeless Births

By Jyoti Jangra

Young women Laila and Rajanti, like many other women from Madhya Pradesh state's Sahariya tribe, were able to conceive. However, what happened after the birth of their children was not in their hands. The Sahariyas are one of the 75 "particularly vulnerable" tribes of India. Rapid urbanization has pushed these forest-dwelling people away from their natural habitat. A tribe that was once self-sufficient now struggles to earn even one meal a day. As a result, the women suffer from a high level of malnutrition, and their children face an even worse fate, with many dying before they turn five.