Seven of them - five sisters and two brothers - got left behind and the local
zamindar housed them at the spot where Natpurwa village stands today. From time
to time he enjoyed sexual favours from the five sisters in return for the
generosity shown by him.
From then on, Natpurwa evolved into a full-fledged village of prostitutes,
reports Grassroots Features.
"For the past 400 years, prostitution has been the tradition here. But now we
are trying to rewrite our history of shame and subjugation with colours of
hope," says Neelkamal, a village lad.
He has banded together a bunch of local youth in a valiant bid to liberate the
villagers from their hellhole.
Neelkamal and his cousins, Rambabu and Guddubhai, themselves born into the
households of prostitutes, started a primary school for the children of
Natpurwa fours years ago.
Today, 85 children are studying in the school. The children of sex workers are
not only taught how to speak, read and write, but also given basic training in
agriculture and allied crafts that can later enable them to earn their
livelihood.
After leaving Lucknow University, Neelkamal worked for Magsaysay Award winner
Sandeep Pandey's NGO Asha in nearby Lalpur village for three years. Then he
decided to devote his entire energies to improving the lot of the people in his
native village with Asha's help and support.
Asha Vidyalaya, the only school in the village, stands out as a powerful symbol
of hope. Though the classes held here are those of kindergarten, 1, 2 and 3,
the school has by now become a force in itself, an instrument of change.
"Our vision is not only to make the children literate and create
self-employment opportunities. We also want to address other problems of the
village and build up capabilities so that the villagers can ensure there is no
physical and mental exploitation of any human being," says Guddubhai.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the three young men, a number of self-help
groups of men and women are active in the area. Every week to a fortnight,
women are told in a group setting about health and hygiene about how a
dangerous disease like AIDS spreads through prostitution, and how the only cure
for AIDS is to know how it spreads.
In addition, young men are being encouraged to take up farming or other allied
occupations like animal husbandry, bee keeping, carpentry etc. The women are
being trained for 'chikan' embroidery work.
Villagers are volunteering to take responsibility for the marriage of girls
rather than continue the tradition of prostitution.
The latest is the case of Ashok, whose two elder sisters were sex workers. It
was only because of them that he could afford to move to town to study. On his
return, aware of the need for change, he married off his third sister.
Afterwards, he even convinced his elder sisters to discontinue with the sex
work and get married in the village itself.
Guddubhai's mother, now 60, was the first to challenge the tradition that drove
unmarried Nat girls of the village to prostitution. She can read and write
Urdu. She also received training in kathak dance and in matters of poise and
conduct reminiscent of the old world culture of Oudh.
"I was the eldest of four sisters and three of us were already sucked into the
trade. But we decided not to let our fourth and youngest sister share our fate
and got her married to a young man outside the village 30 years ago," she
recalls.
Talking about the old days and how they turned the tide, her face comes alive
with emotion and determination.
Today the three sisters have retired. It is a very different life now - a life
of farming and family, with sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. There are
no elderly men in their families, no husbands that is, only their sons.
Says one of these unsung heroines of our times: "We are proud that our sons
have vowed to eliminate prostitution from the village. It is a difficult task,
but it must be completed."
