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  • Kapil, a 12-year-old girl from Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is sitting on her bed during a hot spring afternoon, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Her family is affected by water contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides delivered by their private hand-pump as they cannot collect it from far 2-3 kilometres away on an everyday basis. Throughout her body and face a skin allergy is noticeable, and her family laments the same problem as well as regular stomach pain.
    Slow_Poison_41.JPG
  • A young boy is walking on the hilltop surrounding the tannery area of Jajmau,<br />
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, located on the most polluted stretch of the mighty Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_01.JPG
  • Afreen, 17, a member of the Red Brigades, is performing during a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They perform in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_10.JPG
  • A young girl from the village of Beghrajpur, Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is collecting grass for her family's buffaloes from the banks of a large drain originating from the Beghrajpur Industrial Complex, mainly composed of chemical factories, a few hundred meters upstream, on Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008. The white drain, completely covered in foam, will reach the Kali river (East) in Usampur Bhopara village. At the end of its journey, the watercourse will eventually join the largest Ganges river injecting a deadly dose of pollutants into its Holy waters.
    Slow_Poison_46.JPG
  • Women are collecting water contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides from a hand-pump on the streets of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_19.JPG
  • Students from the Laksha Grawha Ashram are bathing in a pool using groundwater that will later be devoted to irrigation in the village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, on Thursday, Apr. 17, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_12.JPG
  • A young woman is covering her eyes during a sandstorm, in the heavily polluted city of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the largest leather production hub in India.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_38.JPG
  • A worker in one of the tannery units within the industrial area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is pulling a large piece of leather from a chromium bath, where the skin has had hair and impurities removed in a process called liming, to be dried outside the factory.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_17.JPG
  • An elder and a young boy are using their bare hands to collect skins from a bath of contaminated water during the process of liming, removing hair and impurities with the use of various agents, in an illegal tannery unit located within the industrial area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_12.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_14.JPG
  • Indian men are walking next to provoking Pepsi advertisement starring Bollywood celebrity Priyanka Chopra, on the streets of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_02.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is standing insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_01.JPG
  • A young Indian girl is crossing the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_150.JPG
  • Women are walking on a bank of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_061.JPG
  • Residents of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, are showing the contaminated yellow-coloured water from one of the hand-pumps many residents use as the only source for drinking and washing, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_25.JPG
  • A young agricultural labourer is harvesting wheat in a field near the village of Shamli, pop. 1500, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located dangerously near to Shamli Paper Mill, (visible in the background) a large industry discharging untreated wastewaters a few steps away from the field, on Friday, Apr. 18, 2008. Feru, 70, the owner of the field is forced to feed its crops water from the mill's drain. "We own this land since more than 200 years, while this factory was erected in 1981," he adds, "we filed many complains to the MP offices in both Meerut and Lucknow but nobody in the government listens to us. We are not important to them." He also laments that "the soil is becoming defective, and so are our crops whose yield is diminishing year after year."
    Slow_Poison_04.JPG
  • A man is bathing in the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, at dawn. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_47.JPG
  • A group of slum dwellers on the hills surrounding the tannery area of Jajmau are busy collecting fresh water being provided to the colony daily by the government in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The inhabitants are complaining that too little water is provided for the large population of the area, while in case of power cuts, a very common event in Kanpur, the pumping station can shut down completely for days at the time. Rows and arguments over water collection here are an unfortunate daily reality.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_41.JPG
  • A young girl from Joana, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is standing in front of her house. The inhabitants of the village are affected by the wastewater originated from the nearby Jajmau Industrial Area, the largest leather producing hub in India, discharging directly into the holy Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_40.JPG
  • A large drain is pouring municipal and industrial waste into the Ganges River near Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Many drains are scattered around the area and discharge contaminated wastewater into the nearby river tainting underground reservoirs and endangering the fresh water supply of local people.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_32.JPG
  • Labourers are collecting and dividing the thin black dust obtained by boiling leather scraps in one of the many dumping and burning grounds near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This dust is the first process to fertilisers and chicken food.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_28.JPG
  • Workers in one of the larger tanneries within the Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are stockpiling pieces of leather while trimming impurities and scraps before proceeding to colouring and finishing.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_16.JPG
  • Workers in one of the large tanneries located in Jajmau area of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are processing leather in chromium baths, or liming, while complying to little, if any, health and safety regulations.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_14.JPG
  • A young boy is removing contaminated water from a bath after the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_10.JPG
  • A young boy is collecting skins from a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_08.JPG
  • A child labourer in one of the illegal tannery units inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is holding to the side of a pool while stepping on buffalo's skins inside a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents. Children are mostly employed on scraps, or little parts, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_05.JPG
  • Two young boys are collecting skins from a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_04.JPG
  • A section of the slum growing along Jajmau Industrial Area in a maze of houses and tannery units is seen from the surrounding hilltop. A local boy is flying his kite, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_02.JPG
  • Pravesh Verma, 29, from the charity MASVAW, is smiling inside his home in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Pravesh grew up in a middle class family living in a small village where women had to stay in the house and cover their faces when young or just married. He never helped with anything at home; sometimes he and his brother used to beat their sister when she left home to be with her local friends. He used to insult girls using foul language. He had a girlfriend, an adult relationship, but nobody was to know. When his father found out, they had to break up. He later moved to Lucknow in 2001 to study philosophy, and in summer 2007 he attended his first MASVAW-workshop on gender equality. He was impressed and continued to visit those kind of workshops in the coming years. Pravesh began to change; he started to cook and clean on his own, opened up a banking account for his sister where he could deposit some money for her, he even asked his father to change some of his property to his mother's name. He now has a girlfriend named Pinki, 29, and they both met each other's parents. He would like to marry her, but she is still thinking about it. She lives close to Delhi, and they can only meet twice a month. He resides in Lucknow with his sister and his old grandmother, around 100 years old.
    Sexual_Violence_India_45.JPG
  • In the early morning, a lone boy is standing by Hindu writing on a wall near Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan (name changed) went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_41.JPG
  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
    Sexual_Violence_India_40.JPG
  • In the early morning, men are standing around the roads of Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India, where Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, (name changed) resides with her family. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_36.JPG
  • People are passing by a capsized Tata truck on a rural road outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_35.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is preparing some rice for cooking while sitting inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_34.JPG
  • A lone woman is crossing a small fence near a railway crossing on the outskirts of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_32.JPG
  • A young girl and other women are walking near a fruit vendor on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
    Sexual_Violence_India_29.JPG
  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
    Sexual_Violence_India_25.JPG
  • Boys are playing arcade video games on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
    Sexual_Violence_India_23.JPG
  • A woman and her two children are sitting next to a field in the rural area outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_21.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (right) is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (left) is cooking. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_20.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing among some clothes inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_08.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are performing in a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_07.JPG
  • Farmers are working in the fields created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_001.JPG
  • Garbage has been thrown in the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_154.JPG
  • Three Indian boys are crossing the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_148.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_147.JPG
  • The water of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River is bubbling with chemicals, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_059.JPG
  • A stray dog is protecting a carcass from another dog on a bank of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_054.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_053.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_052.JPG
  • A boy is carrying firewood over the sands created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_033.JPG
  • Pardip, a 12-year-old boy from Simlana village, pop.4000, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is leaning on a government-installed hand-pump, on Saturday, Mar. 29, 2008. Pardip developed a neurological disease due to the long-term effects of consuming contaminated water at the age of two. His family and him still regularly use the same 40 ft deep hand-pump located in their courtyard which provides water with large quantities of heavy metals and pesticides leaked through the ground from the nearby drains and the severely polluted Hindon river.
    Slow_Poison_44.JPG
  • Boys are playing on a road of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources, many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_43.JPG
  • A drain from a local paper mill is pouring wastewaters back into the surrounding environment by the banks of the Kali river (East) in Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_42.JPG
  • Children residing in Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, are in line to receive water and other goods from a governmental agency that provides essentials to the poorest residents once a week, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_29.jpg
  • Nusarat, (right) 7-year-old girl from the village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, is completing her homework while her brother, Sahanawaj, 9, is playing on a bed inside their house, on Thursday, Apr. 17, 2008. Both children cannot either speak or hear, while their younger brother, Sarik, 4, was born with a neurological disorder that have left him unable to walk and with minor cognitive skills. The family laments the water delivered from their hand-pump to be yellow at times and of a particular, different odour and taste.
    Slow_Poison_26.jpg
  • Amnoor, a 5-year-old boy from Simlana village, pop.4000, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is being washed by his father using contaminated water delivered by their private hand-pump, on Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008. Amnoor was diagnosed a nervous damage due to the long-term effects of consuming unsafe water at the age of three. Before that he even used to run and was very healthy. Now, his reality is a semi-paralysis to both his left arm and leg. The family, whose only breadwinner is Vinod, 35, an agricultural labour, had to incur in a Rs 30000 (USD 600) expense for Amnoor's first treatment at the PGA Hospital in Chandigarth, Punjab, and in more than Rs 1000 (USD 12) a month for the cost of his medicines. With an average daily wage of Rs 50-60 and two more children to provide for, Vinod is facing a dire economic situation.
    Slow_Poison_18.JPG
  • A truck driver and his co-workers are waiting to deliver their load of sugarcane inside the Daurala Sugar Works industrial complex, near Daurala village, Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Monday, Apr. 14, 2008. Sugarcane-related manufactories, like sugar mills and distilleries rank between the 17 most polluting industries by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and special conditions apply to the release of their wastewaters back into the environment. If Daurala Sugar Works, whose drain reaches the Kali river (East), have implemented a fairly efficient Effluent Treatment Plant, many in the sugarcane-rich area have not, and keep releasing contaminated water into nearby rivers. Even if levels of pollutants are believed to be largely reduced at the Complex, the Kali river (East) cannot absorb any more amount of wastewaters and its situation remains critically unhealthy... ..
    Slow_Poison_15.JPG
  • Farmers are delivering a load of sugarcane from their buffalo-cart inside the Daurala Sugar Works industrial complex, near Daurala village, Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Monday, Apr. 14, 2008. Sugarcane-related manufactories, like sugar mills and distilleries rank between the 17 most polluting industries by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and special conditions apply to the release of their wastewaters back into the environment. If Daurala Sugar Works, whose drain reaches the Kali river (East), have implemented a fairly efficient Effluent Treatment Plant, many in the sugarcane-rich area have not, and keep releasing contaminated water into nearby rivers. Even if levels of pollutants are believed to be largely reduced at the Complex, the Kali river (East) cannot absorb any more amount of wastewaters and its situation remains critically unhealthy.
    Slow_Poison_14.JPG
  • Doli, 5, (middle) from the village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, is shaking in the arms of her father, on Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2008. Doli is affected by a neurological disorder since birth. Doctors believe her condition to be associated to water contaminated with alarming levels of pesticides and heavy metals the family is drinking on an everyday basis. Her skull is underdeveloped and she has serious cognitive limitations that have left her unable to frequent school or carry on any sort of educational activity. The family is now using a nearby governmental hand-pump that provides better quality water in comparison to the 20ft deep private one they priory used.
    Slow_Poison_10.JPG
  • Sakib, 7, from the Patanpura Colony, Saharanphur District, is leading his buffalo out of the Dhamola river, a severely polluted small-size watercourse, in reality more similar to a drain, that joins the Hindon river a few kilometres downstream, on Friday, Apr. 18, 2008. Sakib regularly comes here with his family to wash their buffaloes and provide them water to drink, unaware of the consequences the contamination could have on himself and his animals.
    Slow_Poison_02.JPG
  • Six boys are sitting on the banks of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near the tannery area of Jajmau. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_46.JPG
  • Koren, 5, is one of three children presenting a similar neurological disorder and living on the same road in Joana village, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is portrayed while in the arms of his father. The village is located onto a series of drains joining the Ganges River nearby and the community is entirely.reliant on the poisonous groundwater. Koren has serious cognitive limitations while his body's right side is affected by a semi-paralysis and muscular defection. His family cannot afford even a rudimental medication.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_44.JPG
  • Agricultural labourers are collecting water devoted to irrigation from pools forming on the side of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near Jajmao Industrial Area. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair while crops absorb the contaminants from the water and pass it on to those consuming the vegetables grown in this area.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_43.JPG
  • A child with a neurological disorder (2nd from left) is portrayed with his underprivileged family inside their rudimental home in Joana, pop. 1800, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a poor agricultural village affected by the tanneries' untreated water discharge in the Ganges River.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_35.JPG
  • The polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is seen at dawn from its banks, bordering the large tannery area of Jajmao. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_33.JPG
  • Workers at one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds on the outskirts of Jajmau, near the Ganges River, are portrayed while taking a break on a pile of scrap leather destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the first process to fertilisers and chicken food, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_31.JPG
  • Young workers are feeding a series of large boilers in an illegal dumping and burning ground located on the banks of the holy Ganges River near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_29.JPG
  • Two labourers having a meal of boiled potatoes before beginning their daily work in one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds surrounding the area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. After being bathed in chromium and other chemicals to remove hair and impurities in a process called liming, the skins are examined by hand and the useless parts are cut and sent to one of these fields where they are boiled and reduced to a thin black dust. The resulting dark powder will then be used as a fertiliser or for the first stage of poultry food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_26.JPG
  • Two boys are feeding a large boiler in an illegal dumping and burning ground located on the banks of the Holy Ganges River near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The scrap leather is destined to be boiled and reduced to a thin dust: the raw material for fertilisers and chicken food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_25.JPG
  • A man is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather on arrival from a different unit, to a new plant for further processing in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Knowing whether children were employed in the process is the real challenge when outsourcing leather in Kanpur.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_24.JPG
  • A child is sewing parts of what will be leather articles, inside a medium-size manufacturing unit in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_23.JPG
  • The owner of a small tannery in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is showing the leather just painted in their unit. Arrived from somewhere else, painted by the two children I have witnessed working here, it will depart to reach other hands, and later become an item for sale. In Jajmau this is a daily reality and an intervention is needed to curb the practice.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_22.JPG
  • Two men are moving a heavy load of half-processed leather using a severed horse pulling a wooden cart to a new plant for further processing in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Knowing whether children were employed in the process is the real challenge when outsourcing leather in Kanpur.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_21.JPG
  • Workers inside the warehouse of a large tannery in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, are counting, stockpiling and measuring pieces of dry leather while cutting out some impurities and scraps. They will then proceed with smoothing, colouring and finishing.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_18.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain. In Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanupu, Uttar Pradesh, the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for the final product manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to lifelong exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_15.JPG
  • A young man in an illegal tannery inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is taking a break from the dark, dusty room where he works smoothing and cutting leather. Labourers use almost no protection against the cancerogenic particles generated by this industrial process. Many are oblivious to health and safety regulations, their rights as employees or the impact of a prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals and particles.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_13.JPG
  • A boy is removing contaminated water from a bath after the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_09.JPG
  • Two children are using their feet to find the remaining skins in a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_06.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain in Kanpu, Uttar Pradesh. In Jajmau Industrial Area the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_03.JPG
  • Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, (left) and her wife (right) are listening to some of their collaborators at the PVCHR headquarters in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Lenin's grandfather was a freedom fighter in India's fight against the British. His father was a communist, so he names all of his children after famous communists: Mao, Che Guevara, Stalin, Lenin and Raul. Lenin used to be a doctor in Ayurveda and modern medicine but quit because of the inherent corruption he witnessed. He founded PVCHR in 1996. The charity organises workshops, supports victims during trial and with the police, and promotes education and gender equality.
    Sexual_Violence_India_43.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (second from right) is preparing some rice for cooking, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (right) is preparing a pot with water, inside their home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sanju's children, Payel, 5, (second from left) and Prince Kumar, 3, (left) are sitting nearby. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_42.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are showing their martial arts skills on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_38.JPG
  • Under the heavy rain, a boy is sitting inside a rickshaw passing though a busy street of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_27.JPG
  • Children are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_18.JPG
  • Two young children are enjoying a moment together while their parents are walking around Rajbhar village, where Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (name changed) resides with her family, around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_17.JPG
  • Geeta, (right) around 40 years old, is recounting how her younger daughter Radhika, 4, was kidnapped, raped and murdered on July 7th-8th, while her other daughter, Poonam, 8, (left) is sitting next to her, on a road inside Pakkatalab colony, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Radhika was kidnapped out of the family’s house, nobody noticed. Her mother, Geeta, woke up at around 2am on July 8th and went searching for her younger daughter. She also went to the police, but they didn't do anything to help finding the girl. Geeta found her girl on the street, already dead. According to ‘The Times of India’, around 60 wounds were found on the girl’s body. Instead of filing an official case, (FIR) the police told the mother that street dogs had killed her child. The post-mortem examination showed differently, and also proved that Radhika was raped. After some street demonstrations, the two police officers involved were suspended, and the police have now started searching for evidence. A destitute woman, Geeta makes and sells stones that are used as a flat base where to shred and chip vegetables. Her husband, Raju, died 3 years ago.
    Sexual_Violence_India_06.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is sitting insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_04.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_156.JPG
  • Garbage has been thrown in the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_153.JPG
  • Garbage has been thrown in the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_152.JPG
  • A stray dog is eating a carcass on a bank of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_149.JPG
  • A boy is preparing to cross the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River with his buffaloes, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_146.JPG
  • A stray dog is crossing the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_060.JPG
  • A sandstorm is being created by strong winds over the heavily polluted and dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_031.JPG
  • Visitors are looking at the heavily polluted and dry Yamuna River while standing inside the main complex of the Taj Mahal, in Agra. In the original design, there should be water on the right where people are walking, so as to prevent the Taj from falling towards the river.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_022.JPG
  • The blackened, contaminated waters of the Krishni river are photographed in the village of Chandenamal, pop. 1500, Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Friday, Apr. 4, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_01.JPG
  • Rakesh, 25, from the village of Chandenamal, pop. 1500, Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Krishni river, is sitting on a bed in front of his house, on Saturday, Apr. 29, 2008. Rakesh has been diagnosed a neurological disorder since one and a half years; it has left his legs and left hand almost paralysed while his cognitive skills have been severely affected. He can now walk only with the help of metal crutches and cannot carry on any sort of work or activity. Doctors believe his condition to be associated to the water contaminated with alarming levels of pesticides and heavy metals the family is drinking on an everyday basis.
    Slow_Poison_28.JPG
  • A truck driver and his co-workers are preparing to deliver their load of sugarcane inside the Daurala Sugar Works industrial complex, near Daurala village, Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Monday, Apr. 14, 2008. Sugarcane-related manufactories, like sugar mills and distilleries rank between the 17 most polluting industries by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and special conditions apply to the release of their wastewaters back into the environment. If Daurala Sugar Works, whose drain reaches the Kali river (East), have implemented a fairly efficient Effluent Treatment Plant, many in the sugarcane-rich area have not, and keep releasing contaminated water into nearby rivers. Even if levels of pollutants are believed to be largely reduced at the Complex, the Kali river (East) cannot absorb any more amount of wastewaters and its situation remains critically unhealthy.
    Slow_Poison_39.JPG
  • Sunita Kashap, 23, a housewife from the village of Bhanera Khemchand, pop. 2000, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is portrayed while washing dishes near a hand-pump providing water contaminated with alarming levels of pesticides and heavy metals, on Wednesday, Mar. 26, 2008. Sunita is affected by a cancer on her right eye that has started to develop about two years ago. Doctors believe its cause to be the unsafe water she is drinking on an everyday basis.
    Slow_Poison_37.JPG
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