Widows who work the same jobs that killed their husbands

"Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling fine silica dust generated when rock, like sandstone, is broken. It scars the lungs over time, making breathing difficult. There is no cure, and many sandstone miners in Rajasthan with silicosis don't live past 40, according to a 2020 report. Independent estimates suggest over half of mine workers are afflicted with the disease, and as many as 800,000 people in Rajasthan may have it."

"Like Bimla, many of the widows in her village, near Bhil-Basti, work breaking stones, the same type of labor their former husbands did. The pay is minimal - $2 to $3 a day and about half of what men earn - but they have little choice in the matter. Many of the women have taken on debt from quarry operators and moneylenders to pay for medical bills, funerals, and to support their children."

"They can't complain, because they've taken out loans. No one is tied in chains, but they cannot escape, either. This situation represents a contemporary form of slavery where workers are economically bound to continue laboring in dangerous conditions despite the fatal health risks associated with silicosis exposure."

Silicosis, a fatal lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust from broken sandstone, devastates mining communities in Rajasthan, India. Many miners die before age 40, with over half of mine workers afflicted and potentially 800,000 people in the state carrying the disease. In one village of 30 homes, 20 women became widows after their husbands died from silicosis. These widows now work in the same quarries breaking stones for $2-3 daily, earning half of male wages. Trapped by debt from medical bills, funerals, and loans from quarry operators and moneylenders, they cannot escape despite hazardous conditions. Activists describe this situation as contemporary slavery, where workers face no physical chains but cannot leave.

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