With its main prostitution business dwindling, builders are now eyeing the prime central Mumbai area. Sex workers are in a tight spot, cornered by development and AIDS scare
With its main prostitution business dwindling, builders are now eyeing the prime central Mumbai area. Sex workers are in a tight spot, cornered by development and AIDS scare
SEX workers in Mumbai's red light district are dying a slow death. They are caught between development and the AIDS scare, with Kamathipura's vast area being eyed by real-estate developers and builders.
Most of the pricey properties in this red light district are up for grabs.
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Property owners feel it will make more economic sense selling their properties to land sharks, than continuing with the dwindling fresh trade. Sex workers do not even solicit two clients per day or night, reducing them to a hand to mouth existence and an income as low as Rs 20 per day.
"Around 1991, there were around one lakh sex workers. It was a little before the AIDS scare affected their business. There was reasonable income from the flesh trade and gharwallis borrowed huge sums from moneylenders to buy girls and run the brothels. Business dwindled after most of them contracted HIV,'' recalls Dr I S Gilada, who has been working in the red light districts for the past three decades.
Take the sad story of Sameera. At the age of 55, she was forced to return to the brothel in Kamathipura. Her daughter Rita died of full-blown AIDS, forcing her back into the flesh trade. She too was HIV positive and died recently.
Sameera is not an isolated case. It is only the tip of the iceberg. Former sex worker Yelkamma points out at least 50,000 prostitutes could have died in the past 10 years due to AIDS-related diseases. "Death comes slowly, but surely. Nobody even realises it," laments Yelkamma.
Gilada says 30,000 of the one lakh sex workers migrated to their hometowns in the wake of the 1993 communal riots. An estimated 50,000 were HIV positive and they perished in the past 15 years, he adds. Presently, there could be around 10,000 sex workers in the red light districts like Kamathipura and Falkland Road. More than 10 women operate from a 10 sq feet claustrophobic room with few civic amenities.
Majority of the sex workers in the red light districts are victims of the politics of sexuality. They are a neglected lot as most of them do not have voting rights hence are of very little use for politicians.
Intensive police patrolling in the area has also acted as a deterrent for patrons visiting the narrow lane housing the brothels, a fact acquiesced by Additional Commissioner of Police Dr K Venkatesham.
Kamathipura's history
The history of Mumbai's red light district dates back to 1889 when Britishers encouraged Anglo-Indian sex workers. It was also known as 'safed (white) gulli' and most of the clients were from the garrison.
The word 'red light' emerged as all the brothels have red lamps hanging outside the doors. It was an indication that patrons were being solicited.
By 1928, licences were issued to the sex workers. Numbers were issued to each brothel and some of them, even to this day, display them on their doors.
Around 1950, prostitution was banned in Bombay. The area swarmed with smugglers, who sold items from cheap lighters to Boski textiles.
The first HIV case was detected in December 1985. The first full-blown AIDS case was reported three years later and the first camp for sex workers was held on June 26, 1982.
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