Court order far from solving dilemma of prostitution

Suman, then 18, was forcefully hidden in a small cellar-like room, by her pimp. But her father and brother, along with NGO Shakti Vahini and Delhi Police, were determined to rescue her.

They broke open the doors of the stinky brothel that Suman had been living in for the past three months. Outside the cellar lay shoes of the customers at the infamous Garstin Bastion road (GB road). From there, some vaguely audible whispers were heard and they paved their way into the room full of (scared) trafficked girls, including Suman.

Crying, helpless and constantly shivering, Suman ran towards her father and brother, and the entire room, where emotions are extinct and “business” is the priority, was suddenly struck by an eerie silence of shame.

“The basic problem is that these human traffickers are much more organised and united than us social workers, police, doctors, judiciary and the government. So after being rescued, these girls feel that there is no support for them. Unless there is an organised setup amongst these departments, rehabilitation of sex workers will always be difficult,” says Rishikant, member of Shakti Vahini.

After Delhi Police recently arrested the couple Affaq Husain and Saira, and six others for allegedly running the biggest trafficking and prostitution racket, and the ongoing threat of brothels at the red light area being forced shut if the central government agrees Supreme Court’s judgement, there has been a “chaotic” situation at GB Road, according to NGOs Shakti Vahini and Kat-Katha.

When Deccan Herald approached these NGOs for a visit to GB Road, a negative reply was given in addition to the response “none of the girls will be willing to speak to media at the moment.”

It was only after repeated requests that victim Suman and home based sex worker Shalu agreed to share their stories of prostitution.

Suman hails from a village near Diamond Harbour in Kolkata. She was allegedly abducted by two men while she was on her way home from the nearby market. They got her to Delhi, often assaulted her physically and handed her over to a madam (pimp) who took her to a brothel at GB road.

“There were very small rooms in the brothel in which a lot of girls were made to stay. The rooms used to smell of urine and there was no ventilation. I was asked to work every day and if I didn’t earn money, madam used to beat me,” recalls Suman.

Suman repeatedly condemns police who “came only for money” at the brothels.“This is one of the instances of organised crime. To fight human trafficking, we have junior police officials, who often get involved with these racketeers and their business. Many victims have complained about police involvement and their behaviour,” reports Rishikant.

Suman’s only hope and friend was another Bengali girl (Leena) working at the same brothel. Leena had a regular customer (also a Bengali), to whom Leena told about Suman. The customer, who reportedly is an army officer, approached Suman’s family and helped them rescue her.

Vicious circle

But the vicious circle of poverty is such that it forces many to continue with prostitution. Amongst the many layers of sex trade at GB road, there exists a layer with voluntary sex workers who are probably the biggest source of bread and butter for pimps and traffickers.

Shalu had been engaged in the flesh business since 2005. A former home based sex worker residing in Mangolpuri, Shalu got married to one of her customers and has an eight-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter from him. Her husband is able to earn sufficient income as a driver, so she left the trade after her daughter’s birth.

“I don’t think anybody wants to do this by choice. I got into this business because my mother had cancer and we had no money for her treatment. When this customer married me, we had shortage of money so I continued with it,” says Shalu.

Not just with prostitution, Shalu has no complaints from her pimp or her brothel at GB road. Instead, she says that she felt safe there. “When I started working at home, I was more scared of the police. At GB road, we always knew we were safe and the police could do no harm to us as far as the managers and didis were there,” she adds.

Justifying her reasons against court’s orders to shut down the brothels, Shalu says that in that case, many sex workers will face difficulties for survival.  “You can’t earn Rs 1,000 in a day by stitching or working as maids,” she says.

NGO Kat-Katha has been trying to educate these sex workers and their children through their classrooms and training programmes for many years. However, only a handful of them (around 25 children and two sex workers) are currently with the NGO.

“We demand just their time. But in that time, they can also wait on the roads for a customer and earn money. Moreover, the society does not accept them after being rescued,” says Kopal Srivastava, member of Kat-Katha.

She adds that shutting down of brothels will not be a solution for ending prostitution. “Most sex workers usually lack confidence and are reluctant to learn a new skill. After spending some time at the brothel, they are convinced with the way they are living,” says Srivastava.