This Mother's Day, meet the women who sort waste, raise families and protect the planet

Time of India

11-05-2025

On a day when gifts, cards and wishes mark the celebration of motherhood across the country, four women in the lanes of Delhi's huge urban sprawl begin their day not with rest, but with responsibility to their children, to their communities, and to the planet. Jyoti, Reshma, Anita and Shagufa - while these women are all
waste pickers
living in different slum clusters of the capital, they are also deeply involved in grassroots
environmental work
.
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They tirelessly work on the ground, seldom seek recognition and rarely appear in headlines.
From sorting and collecting recyclable waste to spreading awareness door to door, and to reaching out to the victims of domestic violence, their contribution to the city's development is as relentless as their role as mothers.
"I wake up at 4 am every day. I prepare food and lunch boxes, take my children to school and only then go to work," Jyoti, who lives in Vivekananda Camp and works with the
Chintan environmental group
, told PTI.
However, Jyoti's day does not end with her job as a waste picker. She spends afternoons picking up her children from school and sending them to tuition. Whereas, her evenings are all about finishing household chores.
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"From 4 am to 10 pm, I don't stop. Sundays are the only days I take off, to be with my children," she said.
Chintan, an environmental research and action group, engages women like Jyoti in community-based work. Many of them go door to door in their neighbourhoods, not only spreading awareness on waste management and environmental issues but also helping women facing domestic violence, injustice or medical distress.
Another 41-year-old slum dweller Reshma, who lives in the Bhalswa Diary slum, said that she balances similar responsibilities, but without a partner's support.
"My husband left me a long time ago. I've raised my five children alone," she told PTI, adding that only two of her children go to school.
She said that she does not take on other waste collection jobs when she is engaged in projects by Chintan. She was also a part of the recent 'Heat Solutions' initiative to reduce indoor temperatures in low-income homes.
"I got white roofs painted and used bamboo and jute sheets to cool homes. I've done this for 70 to 80 houses. I only take a day off if one of my children is sick. Otherwise, I keep working," Reshma told PTI.
Without any gifts, cards or even appreciation on days like
Mother's Day
, these women live vastly different lives. What remains with them instead is grit, sacrifice, and quiet resilience.
In another part of the city, Anita, 40, lives in a slum in the Nizamuddin area. She too juggles environmental work, waste picking and the full-time demands of motherhood. "I have six children. Three of them go to school. It's hard to manage everything," Anita said.
Anita's husband left her 15 years ago, and she has raised her family alone since.
Her work with
Chintan
includes community surveys, plastic waste collection, and awareness campaigns. "We speak to women in the area, listen to their problems, and try to help. We also talk about health, environment, and safety," she said.
In the same area lives 30-year-old Shagufa, who said her health has suffered due to the constant strain of managing work and family. "There are several health issues I've been facing because I don't get rest. I work as a waste picker and also help with the environment group's work," she told PTI.
Even as these women work in the harshest conditions like sorting through garbage, walking long distances and breathing polluted air, they also carry out critical environmental interventions that touch hundreds of homes.
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