ALWAR, India (CNN) -- At birth, Usha Chaumar's life
story had already been written.
Illiterate and married off at age 10, Chaumar was
forced into the only livelihood her family has known for
generations.
As a Dalit, the lowest level in India's complex caste
system, she was a so-called scavenger, a person who
collects the garbage, feces and urine of other higher
caste people. In the eyes of many, that would make
her too disgusting to touch.
"They used to call me all kind of names,'' Chaumar,
now 33, said. "I used to feel very bad. but what could I
do? I didn't have any work to do but this job."
Photo: So-called scavengers collect the garbage, feces and urine of higher caste people.
Traditionally, the age-old Hindu caste system is a social hierarchy that determines what
occupation a person should pursue. Broadly, the system has four major castes and thousands of
sub-castes.
At the upper rung are Brahmins, the priestly class; followed by the Kshatriya or warrior caste; the
Vaishya, the trading community; and the Shudras -- trades like carpenters, barbers and
metalworkers. The Dalits are involved in menial professions that no one else wants. Hundreds of
thousands of Indians are believed to fall in this category.
Officially, the caste system has been outlawed, but millennia of tradition have left deep dividing
lines in Indian society.
In the town of Alwar in the northern state of Rajasthan, there are about 300 so-called
"untouchable" women working in this profession.
For her efforts, Chaumar got paid $7 to $10 a month. But it helped to feed her three children.
India has laws against "manual scavenging," as it is called. But the work is still around, in part
because of the poor sanitation system in India. In many parts of the country, especially in rural
India, many toilets are dry bucket toilets (named for the way they are shaped) that are not hooked
up to any pipes. The waste just drops to the ground below.
Manju Atwal says she cleans 20-25 bucket toilets a month and makes about $20 per month,
which helps feed her six children.
"For the past 20 years my life hasn't been a life. The world treats us like insects," Atwal said. "I
want to walk upright, get a good job and get rid of this dirty work so the world wouldn't oppose us.
We want to walk with the world," Atwal said. Watch as Manju cleans her neighbors' waste »
Now 56 former "untouchable" women from Alwar are getting their wish. They are quitting their
demeaning jobs and walking with their heads held high, no longer invisible to those around them.
Dr. Bindeswar Pathak of Sulabh International is their guide.
"I saw their conditions, and I thought they were living like ... pigs," Dr. Pathak said. "So why not
give them some alternative jobs ... to do something else."
Dr. Pathak happens to be from India's highest caste. His interest in helping Dalits began at an
early age.
"While I was a child at 13 years old, I touched an untouchable. For that my grandmother forced
me to swallow cow dung, cow urine and Ganges water to purify myself," Pathak said.
He was dismayed at the experience and for the past 40 years has made it his mission to elevate
the downtrodden. So far, his organization says it's helped more than 60,000 "untouchables" and
installed more than a million of its eco-friendly, humane toilets in India alone.
The United Nations Development Program estimates 2.6 billion people do not have access to a
clean and safe place to go to the toilet. It is a recipe for deadly disease.
The U.N. deemed 2008 the Year of Sanitation to bring awareness to the importance of proper
sanitation.
Dr. Pathak and the former "untouchables" of Alwar were invited to New York to illustrate that point
and also be honored. Pathak took 36 of the women to the United Nations, the women's first trip
outside India.
In New York, the spotlight shone on the women, as they strode down the runway modeling the
blue saris that they now design and tailor.
The former sanitation workers used to spend their lives covering their faces so they did not upset
those around them. Now they are objects of admiration.
Usha Chaumar was singled out for her amazing accomplishments: She can read and write now
and is no longer doing the dirtiest of work. She was crowned "Princess of Sanitation Workers" at
the United Nations.
It is a title that will take time to get used to after being treated like dirt for most of her life.
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CNN.com/Asia http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/14/untouchable.models/index.html