Marathi’s non-feature movie ‘Rekha’ has emphasized the worse condition of street dwellers’ menstrual hygiene and how they are deprived of the facilities to even take a bath.
The movie that is based on the day to day fight of street dwellers, their hygiene and sanitation issues, and society’s point of view towards them, was presented under the Indian Panorama Non-feature section in the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), ongoing in Goa.
Maker of ‘Rekha’, Shekhar Bapu Rankhambe stated that people closed outdoors to the street dwellers.
The protagonist Rekha resides on the roadside. Bearing a fungal skin infection, the doctor suggested she must bath and apply the medicine daily. But her spouse prohibits her and ill-treats her.
Rekha tries to take bath but is shocked when the ladies of her community tell her the reason not to, leaving her in a dilemma. She takes a decision to leave her spouse so that she can take a bath to overcome the infection. The movie displays her hardships to stay clean.
The movie focuses on various layers of the concept of cleanliness, while also mentioning that society needs to adopt a clean approach toward street dwellers.
