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Delhi's Air Quality Index Crisis: Women Bear the Brunt

A look at how Delhi's air quality index crisis disproportionately affects women's health and lifestyle. This crisis has escalated to a point where the daily lives and well-being of women in Delhi are under severe threat.

By Nitya Choubey
New Update

"Mahilao ke exercise ka samay 1 p.m. se 4 p.m. hai." (The time for women to exercise is from 1 p.m. to 4 pm.)

This statement is displayed on a drenched green-colored signboard, visible to Prof. Teena, a faculty member of Urban Affairs at Ambedkar University. Unexpected drizzling on November 27 in Delhi cleared the skies and improved visibility. The board is mounted on the fence of a triangular public park near New Delhi Railway Station, a park that was earlier frequented by women from various classes, until a Delhi government advisory circulated, asking residents to remain indoors.

Delhi recorded the season's highest AQI of 468 on November 3, which falls under the 'severe' category. On November 26, Delhi's Air Quality Index was still 389, under the 'very poor' category. A healthy AQI is anything below 50. The November pollution in the city further reduced the presence of women in public parks, who would cluster together for evening walks and yoga sessions. Like any other metropolis in the country, Delhi provides its male citizens better access to public places and health infrastructure. Pollution adds to this gender disparity in the city's public spaces.

"On one hand, I consider getting an air purifier instead of coughing and visiting the clinic monthly. On the other, I will not have any air purifier when I step out for lectures. I cannot always be indoors," said Prof. Teena. After the usual November smog began covering Delhi's cityscape, sales of air purifiers ramped up. Many families, like that of the professor, do not mind spending 20,000 for good air. However, not all 78 lakh women living in the city are dealing with Delhi's air quality index crisis the same way.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index Crisis: The Homeless 

One of the most vulnerable groups to pollution are the 16,000 homeless, roughly 10,000 of whom are women. During winters, a larger number of homeless take to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Boar