The stench of decay hangs over a makeshift camp in southern Pakistan where hundreds of locals have sought shelter from the devastating monsoon floods that have submerged nearly a third of the country.
In the province of Punjab, dozens of tents stand around a small rural train station – the only dry land on a horizon of water accessible only by a stretch of road.
The smell is a heady mix of rotting vegetation from drowned crops, leftover food scraps and rubbish — as well as the accumulated excrement of the hundreds of people and livestock who have gathered there.
“There is no place to shower or go to the toilet,” says Zebunnisa Bibi, who had to flee with her family two weeks ago when her village was inundated by floodwaters.
Similar tent camps have sprung up like mushrooms in the south and west of the country. The worst flooding in the country’s history has engulfed an area the size of the UK and affected 33 million people – one in seven Pakistanis.
The lack of functioning toilets in these camps is one of the biggest problems – a health risk for everyone, but misery for women and girls in particular.
Rural Pakistan is home to extremely conservative Muslim communities, and many displaced women are forced to live in close proximity to non-relative men for the first time in their lives.
“We used to live behind the veil, but God lifted that for us,” Zebunnisa said, citing the strict gender segregation practiced in rural Pakistan.
– ‘Deeply Ashamed’ –
She said she was “deeply ashamed” of having to relieve herself outdoors – especially after catching a man watching her lower her shalwar kameez from behind a tree.
Shameen Bibi expressed similar feelings.
“Where can I send my daughters alone?
Swarms of flies and mosquitoes add to the misery and create an environment ripe for outbreaks of disease and infection.
Some women have stopped venturing into the flood waters to relieve themselves after many developed rashes.
Ehsan Ayaz, a volunteer doctor who arrived at the Fazilpur campsite when AFP visited him, said the lack of toilets was “the main reason” for the increase in cases of skin infections and stomach flu he was treating.
Shameen and her daughters now drink as little water as possible during the day, preferring to spend hours in discomfort rather than being forced to relieve themselves where they can be seen.
As the sun goes down and darkness falls over the camp, the women seek a secluded spot away from flickering campfires.
They take turns keeping watch and warning advancing men.
“I don’t know what we can even do if someone comes and takes advantage of us,” Shameen said.
There is another threat as well.
At night, Shameen said, “snakes and scorpions come out of the water.”
