Udaan – “Means to Soar”
A project for the upliftment of sex workers & their children.
Sonagachi is the largest red light district in Kolkata, India and one of the largest in Asia. It is an area with several hundred multi-story brothels and estimated 11,000 sex workers. In Kolkata, Kalighat is the second largest area of commercial prostitution and is home to sex workers from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. There are other areas in Kolkata where the trade is flourishing.
The Art of living and IAHV proposed the intervention for the Kalighat red light area in Kolkata. The proposed target group was twofold – First target group were the mothers & youth in the community, in the red-light district which could be groomed to become leaders of social change; children of sex workers whom we divided in two groups for focused attention:
- 0 – 5 Years (special focus on immunization and health)
- 6 – 18 Years (special focus on health and education)
The objectives of the intervention were:
- To de-traumatize the mothers and children through the Art of Living programs and equip them mentally, physically and emotionally for sustainable behavior transformation.
- To create social leadership among sex workers and youth in the area for becoming leaders of social change in their community.
- To create an enabling environment for children for all- round development of their personality and inculcate the passion for self- growth in their lives.
- To provide better health and hygiene practices to check out- break of diseases in the area.
- To provide better educational facilities and counseling to children to reduce number of school drop outs.
- A comprehensive awareness program and community center providing services for health care, cleanliness, hygiene, quality education and referrals for vocational training.
Art of Living Intervention – Project Udaan
Our team started visiting the red light area of Kalighat sometime in July 2012, with the intention of implementing the project there and in other such areas. The first task was to get the buy in of the stake holders of the Community. The necessary permissions from the Municipal Councillor & the police & the local MLA were easily obtained. Getting a foothold in the community, on the other hand, proved to be an uphill task. First, it was difficult to locate the exact area in Kalighat because the “respectable” houses merged seamlessly into the red light area. Many visits to the local heavyweights ultimately proved to be of no use – promises were made but nothing transpired. Secondly, because the community itself was exploited & stigmatized by almost everyone they come in touch with, they are suspicious of anyone who approaches them.
However, assistance came from an unexpected source. A lady who had earlier worked with DMSC suggested that we should approach the NGO. After several visit to the DMSC office & having meetings with their General Secretary, Bharati Dey, during which we stated our intentions and aims. After the entry into the community, winning the confidence of the target community was first on our agenda .We started with a Medical Camp ( general medicine) on the 18th November, and since then have been holding one Medical Camp every month, in which check-ups, medicines & even spectacles are provided free of cost to the community. The SW really values these camps & on an average 60 patients is being treated at each Medical Camp. We have a request from the SW for a repeat Camp for an eye check up with free spectacles. They asked us if we can have a permanent Medical Dispensary with doctor if possible.
The girls and women from Kalighat, Sonagachi, Bowbazaar & other areas are from the suburbs of the cities & also villages of West Bengal, from the north east & from Bangaldesh & Bihar. They either live in the brothels or operate on a daily basis from their homes. The SW group includes women, men & transvestites, but the majority are girls & women. Young girls, age 13- 20 can be found standing on the streets in the middle of the morning, waiting for the “Office Babus” who come during their lunch breaks. Otherwise the trade starts from evening onwards.
General feedback from patients in the first Camp was that they have never got medicines in other ‘Medical camps’ & that the cost of medicines is too high for them to sustain. Since we provide medicines for only one month, the women often plead with us for free supply of medicines throughout the year. They are treated for minor ailments like stomach issues, body pain and cold – cough infections. HIV Aids & STD, and blood sugar, caused by stress, traumatisation & lifestyle are the main life threatening diseases. Awareness about HIV aids has been created in the Community by DMSC, who have been working there for over 15 years now, but there is no resolution in sight, because the customers refuse to wear protection, & the women continue with their trade because that is their only means of livelihood. There is a high incidence of blood sugar , because the SW have to drink with their clients & are also exposed daily to stress created by extreme poverty & need, social stigma, exposure to physical violence, & heinous crimes, like torture & murder, extortion & the ever looming fear of getting sexually transmitted diseases.
We gathered that their “takings” are split into 4 parts – the Brothel owner, the pimp, the local toughs, including the police, take three fourths of the earnings & they are left with only a quarter of what they earn from their trade. The target community lives in extreme poverty, in squalor & in fear of their lives – death can result from sexually transmitted disease & HIV Aids, from physical torture & violence, from premature old age caused by their profession. They are also unique in the sense that they are the only marginalized community which is ostracised from the very society which feeds on them. Many of the children, when they are 7 – 8 years old, act as pimps for their mothers & bring the customers to her.
1) The SW can be identified as two distinct groups – one which has totally immersed itself in a hedonistic life of sex & drink, and the other group which saves for their children & family at home.
2) The women put aside money from their meagre incomes to provide for their children & their ageing parents & to educate their siblings & also build a shelter for their dear ones in their home towns & villages 3) But more often than not, when they are past their prime and want to return to these homes that they have built, they are refused entry, because of the social ostracism associated with their trade.
We were surprised to see that many of the SW wearing the vermillion mark & red and white bangles were signifying marriage. On being asked why they do so, the story is the same – her husband has married again & does not support her & her offspring or that the man she married has sold her off to the brothel. They are often sold off by their poverty stricken parents or relatives or tricked into the trade by their lover.
Our next step was the introduction of Sudarshan Kriya & its associated practices in the community, through the AOL Wellness Programs. (SKYA) Sudarshan Kriya has been clinically tested & proved to be effective in cases of depression, chronic diseases like blood sugar, & also for HIV Aids. The practises are also effective for boosting of the low self-esteem & morale of the stigmatized community like the SW. The first such course was held on the 15th of January 2013 after much persuasion, but after that we have been successful in holding one course per month. The HIV aids carriers are identified by DMSC, but since most clients refuse to wear protection & there is no way of stopping the SW from practising their profession, they put the entire community at risk. If nothing is done, then the disease is set to spiral exponentially amongst the so called “Bhadralok (respectable)” community.
What can be done for these women and their children so that they can live with dignity as members of the human race? Apart from this very tragic & basic need, what can be done to prevent them from contracting Aids and passing the disease on to their customers? Our primary aim is to raise the self-esteem of these women & help them to fight the disease through the SKYA & allied practices which include pranayama, meditation, & motivational interactive sessions. The children will be taken through Bal Chetana Shibirs, which ensures that they know the path to take for their own benefit. Other than that, there is a dire need to provide the community with alternative means of livelihood, to which they can turn, if they so choose. The Aids infected persons should be provided alternative income earning avenues immediately, with no further delay. The frightening spectre of spiralling HIV Aids infection looms large otherwise. The children should also be made aware that there are options other than this trade through which can earn a decent living and also make them a part of mainstream society.