Fact-Finding Mission to Matritva Chaya Shelter Home for Pregnant and Lactating Women, Sarai Rohilla

Post Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

A team from Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), comprised of Abhiti Gupta and Briana Olson, (hereafter “the team”) visited Matritva Chaya Shelter Home for Pregnant and Lactating Women at Sarai Rohilla (hereafter “Sarai Rohilla shelter” or “the shelter”) on 2nd March 2013 and did a follow up visit on 11th March 2013 to determine its functionality, capacity, and current use.

Sarai Rohilla shelter is located very far from the New Delhi center at Chandra Shekhar Azad Colony, Budh Bazar Road, Kishan Ganj, Sarai Rohilla. The team took the metro to Shastri Nagar Station and thereafter took a 10-minute auto-rickshaw ride to the shelter. Although the auto driver did not know about the shelter, the team asked others on the street that was able to explain the shelter’s location to the auto driver.

Once it reached the shelter, the team spoke with Ms. Kiran Khurana, the director of the Sarai Rohilla shelter as well as the Matritva Chaya Shelter Home for Pregnant and Lactating Women in Jahangir Puri. Ms. Madhu Sharma, the Centre Incharge at Sarai Rohilla shelter, and Ms. Linda, the Centre Incharge at Sarai Rohilla and Jahangir Puri shelters, also joined the team and Ms. Khurana. The Sarai Rohilla shelter opened in February 2011 and is run by the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA). It has a 14-bed occupancy and there are currently seven women staying at the shelter – six of them are lactating and one is three months pregnant. Since it first opened in 2011, the shelter has hosted a total of 25 pregnant and lactating women. Ms. Khurana stated that males are not allowed to live in the shelter home with their wives; in fact, male visitors are also not allowed. Pregnant women are allowed to stay at either shelter after delivery, but must leave the shelter after one and a half years while they care for their newborns.