For children born to sex workers, shaking off the stigma is sometimes impossible. However, tales of grit and resilience too emerge from this gloomy scene.
From the warrens of Kamathipura, one of Asia’s largest red-light districts, 13 girls have not only got an opportunity to break away from the shackles of the trade but also test their talents. They will travel all the way to the U.S. in May to perform a play, Lal Batti Express , an initiative of Kranti, a non-governmental organisation working to educate and empower trafficked girls and daughters of sex workers in Mumbai.
The nearly hour-long play depicts the trials and tribulations faced by sex workers, their children and others in the red-light area. The narrative is based on the girls’ lived experiences. The girls, in the 14-19 age group, will perform the play in New York, Washington, Las Vegas, Chicago and San Francisco.
Most girls in red-light areas find it difficult to get admission to schools or find a place to stay. Through the intervention of Kranti, which just turned four, some from Kamathipura have managed to dream of a better life with a changed view of life. Shweta Katti is the first alumna of Kranti to receive a scholarship for admission to Bard College, New York. She is the winner of the U.N. Youth Courage Award. “It’s one way of getting our messages and questions through; a therapy. Horrible things happen in red-light areas but it is people from the so-called ‘normal society’ who make it a horrible place. We also go through horrible things,” Ms. Katti says.
While the play will serve to raise funds for Kranti’s cause, Robin Chaurasiya, its U.S.-born co-founder, says the larger goal is to sensitise popular perception to the lives of sex workers. Ms. Chaurasiya, who has served in the U.S. military, says theatre has played an immense role in raising the confidence and public-speaking abilities of the girls.
“It’s meant to be an agent of change. By watching these girls perform their life stories, people are getting an insight into the things they earlier considered inappropriate,” she says. The name of the play, Lal Batti Express , is much more nuanced than it initially seems. It is symbolic of the journey of the girls from the misery of the red-light area to a life of dignity and triumph (VIP culture often symbolised by red-beacon vehicles).
The play is written, produced and performed by “Kranti girls,” as they call themselves. Pinky Sheikh, 19, who plays the role of a woman running a brothel, says theatre has given her confidence a new boost in a life otherwise sprayed with anecdotes of stigma and obscurity. While she was studying in a Marathi-medium school, she recounts, she was often spoken to with contempt and reminded of her background. “They were rude to me and would make me sit on the last bench,” she says.
Ms. Sheikh moved to Mumbai from Kolkata when she was 12 and has been with Kranti since its beginning. Two years ago, she lost her father to alcohol. Her mother is still in the sex trade. Ms. Sheikh’s challenging background has given her an impetus to aspire to be a psychologist, but of animals, as she feels that “even they need therapy.” “Children of sex workers are expected to join the trade. People need to change that view. We may or may not choose to become sex workers. We can also achieve other things. They should respect our choice,” she says.
