indian-women-avatar-cartoon-character_18591-55130

Tasneem

Surviving the Pandemic: How Sex Workers are Coping

On a normal day, P. N. Shanthi would earn anywhere between Rs. 500 to 1000. Since the lock down in March, business for Shanthi has taken a hit just like it has for most of us. On most days she has managed with no food or money. The governments’ Rs. 1000 per month and rice bag scheme has not met her needs completely and her future post corona remains uncertain, just like it does for most of us. But then Shanthi comes from a stigmatized and marginalized section of the society. She is a sex worker.

Yes, very little thought or help has been rendered to this section of the society on how they are surviving the lockdown. A ‘business’ which involves 100 per cent physical contact is not a chance someone would take on in times of a pandemic like COVID 19. But for Shanthi, it was this business which helped her raise 3 kids, educate them and help them settle in life. Married off at 16, and a mother of 4 till she was 19, this was not the life she had imagined for herself. After being abandoned by her husband, she was sold off for a meager Rs. 10,000 and brought to Chennai from Kerala, Shanthi was forced into the flesh trade. With nowhere to go, no education or literacy and stuck in a new land, she did not have any opportunity to choose otherwise. This is the story of many such Shanthis all over the country. No one opts for this profession as a choice. Their situations and socio-economic condition leave them no choice.

 As she indulges in banter with me she opens up slowly about her life story. Today, she is living alone and manages to sustain. But this is not the case for tens of her other colleagues. They are in a worse situation. Some have parents or children to look after. Some have health issues like diabetes, kidney problems, etc. or an ailing family member and with no money for food itself, medication has become unaffordable and out of reach. She feels for them. She reminisces about the good samaritans (read social workers) in her life that helped put her children into a hostel and give them a good education. And also the help of organizations like ICWO who have reached out to their community over the last 2 decades and helped uplift and inform them of health hazards associated with their trade and given them the training to practice safe sex. They even helped in providing some rations for them during this pandemic.

A.J. Hariharan is the founding secretary of Indian Community Welfare Organisation (I.C.W.O). “Since 1994, ICWO has been doing a considerable amount of work in the field of STD / HIV / AIDS prevention. Yet there are several mountains to climb”, he says. This pandemic is going to last for a while and Hariharan is aware of the perils being faced by the sex worker community. But sadly, there is no scheme or alternate employment program for them and rehabilitating them has never been an easy task.

“We are daily wage workers but we are not recognized for any schemes by the government”, says Shanthi. “People don’t let us rent their houses. We face stigma and discrimination at every step from the society. I wish my peers and colleagues were housed together in one locality or housing society. Then we can watch out for each other and take care of each other, and share whatever little we have since no one from the outside will do this with us”.

I will leave it at that.

Share and Enjoy !

0Shares
0 0

Tags

RELATED POSTS

MORE FROM AUTHOR

Tasneem

Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke. With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.

Leave a Comment

SUBSCRIBE

Please enter a valid email address.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

HEALTH

Switching to a Menstrual Cup? This Lady Will Tell You How to Ace It!

Switching to a Menstrual Cup? This Lady Will Tell You How to Ace It!

I always shuddered at the idea of using a menstrual cup!  For someone like me who has PCOS, super irregular menstrual cycle and unpredictably heavy ...

Foods to Avoid and Choose in PCOS

PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) typically causes a rise in insulin in the blood. Insulin helps control blood glucose levels by signaling the liver and muscle ...

Did You Know That The World Could Have Been 3 Billion Fewer People? Here’s How!

Did you know that if every woman had access to secondary education, the world would have been 3 billion fewer people?! Okay, do you know ...

Meet Niketa And Poovayya, Teenagers Providing Sanitary Kits To Migrant Women Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

After the Centre enforced the nationwide lockdown on March 25, two Bangalore based teenagers were firstly excited at the thought of board exams getting postponed. ...

Digital schooling a cause of tribulation for children and a load for mothers

“Digital schooling in the Internet age means teaching tomorrow skills today.” Digital schooling: where about! Integrating technology in digital education is a complex issue taking ...

Here’s why COVID-19 Crisis Could result in more Child Marriages & Female Genital Mutilation

UNFPA claimed that an additional 13 million girls could be married off and two million more could undergo FGM in the next decade, beyond what ...

INSTAGRAM

CURRENT