Virtually none. So what! There are people from the sex workers' fraternity, who
have now decided to work for the uplift of city sex workers.
As it is, having been forced to lead a cursed life due to the taboo attached
with their profession, the city sex workers have found a new saviour, a tribal
woman, Sarita Kuzur (name changed), from adjoining Jharkhand, who is willing to
take up their cause.
Ask Kuzur about the reason for taking pains to work in a city so far away from
her native place and pat comes the reply, "I do not want these young girls to
go through the harrowing experience which I had after joining this profession."
Mother of two children, she joined this profession around one and half years
back after the untimely death of her husband and subsequent denial of the
family members to take the load of her children.
"Initially, I had to face the wrath of local goons on the one hand and police
on the other. However, the ordeal came to an end when I came into the contact
of Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee (DMSC), which not only educated me about
the precautions I should take while entertaining customers, but also made me
aware about my rights which in turn gave me the confidence to lead a normal
life," she told TOI. Talking about her sojourn from a sufferer to an activist,
Kuzur said it was all due to DMSC which gave her the confidence to overcome the
guilt feeling the sex workers generally carry.
"Hence, as soon as the Bihar unit of DMSC requested me to take up the cause of
city sex workers I readily agreed," she added.Least bothered about the time the
work might take, Kuzur appeared quite firm in her resolve when asked about the
financial loss she might have to suffer while staying away from her place of
profession. "I know that my earnings are going to be affected, but with
virtually none to take up the cause of people like us it becomes the duty of
those in the same profession to strive for whatever can be done to improve the
lot of sex workers," she averred.
DMSC Bihar unit co-ordinator Utpal Ganguly said this gesture of Kuzur had
encouraged him to do something substantial for the cause of city sex workers.
"With a chance to build a rapport with this deprived section, DMSC would now
organise a orientation programme for the city sex workers so that they could be
equipped with necessary tools to raise voice for themselves," he said.
