THE LIVING?S NOT EASY: Sex workers say they want their children to do better than them

Q: Is this all about legalising sex work?

No, it?s not, for sex work is legal in India. What is not legal is soliciting for clients, trafficking or living off the earning of a sex worker.

Q: Then what is the issue?

There are two issues here: decriminalising and licensing sex work. Decriminalising would mean doing away with some of the laws that, while not outlawing sex work, make it difficult for a sex worker to operate. Allowing sex work, but putting a ban on all that it entails, is contradictory. It is, says Laxmi Murthy of Saheli, a women?s group based in Delhi, something like allowing women to make papads, but banning packaging and marketing. What is worrying is the fact that sex workers are often harassed by the police who round up their parents and children, charging them with living off their earnings. Teachers or doctors can keep their families with them, says filmmaker Shohini Ghosh, but clearly sex workers cannot.

Q: Why is everybody suddenly talking about it?

The issue has been around for a while. The debate is heating up in Maharashtra because governor Mohammed Fazal has asked for legalising sex work. Last month, Saheli organised a discussion in Delhi. The meeting was attended by representatives of women?s groups as well as sex workers and activists.

Q: Aren?t women?s groups and sex workers on two opposing sides of the spectrum?

They used to be, and to an extent, they still are. Sex workers? groups no longer view all women?s groups with suspicion, for many women?s organisations have begun to question their old position on sex work. Some of the older and bigger women?s organisations, however, are opposed to decriminalising or licensing sex work, because they argue that voicing the demand would mean endorsing the exploitation of women.

Q: So isn?t sex work an exploitation of women?

Many believe that it?s as much an exploitation as some other forms of work ? say, domestic or construction work. But those who are campaigning for the rights of sex workers ? and this is a growing body ? stress that if there are problems with a profession, you don?t demand that it be done away with. Instead, you work for improving working conditions. ?What you need to do is end exploitation ? but not the profession where exploitation exists,? says Ghosh, whose film, Tales of the Night Fairies, focused on the women of Sonagachi.

Q: But should a woman be forced into selling her body?

Trafficking, everybody agrees, is a no-no because it forces people into the trade. Activists believe women who are being forced into sex work and want to be out of it should be supported. But those who think there is nothing wrong with sex work, but that their working conditions should be improved, that police exploitation should stop and that sex work should not be seen as a stigma should be supported too.

Q: Isn?t there something wrong with women selling their bodies to make a living?

That is a moral question ? and, clearly, it is this that continues to trouble a section of activists. Some women?s groups believe that a woman who cleans a bathroom or works as a construction labourer is better off than one who is selling her body, mainly because the latter is indulging in sex. Many groups, however, have begun to question that. Murthy, for instance, points out that when a woman has sex with multiple partners, it is not seen as exploitation. When she does it for money, it is.

Q: But will a woman be a sex worker if she is given a choice?

This question of choice was raised at the Saheli meeting. Those who saw sex work as a form of exploitation wanted to know if sex workers would like their children to get into the trade. A sex worker stood up and replied: ?No, I wouldn?t ? just as a domestic worker would not want her child to follow in her footsteps either. Like everybody else, we want our children to do better than us,? she said. ?The question of choice affects us all,? adds Ghosh. ?Nobody who has the choice to be a doctor will ever say: I don?t want to be a doctor, I want to be a bathroom-cleaner.?

Q: Speaking of choices, minors, for instance, are forced into sex work.

That?s something that even organised sex workers? groups are fighting against. More active groups, such as the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) of Bengal have a committee that regulates the entry of newcomers.

Ghosh, who has been involved with the work of DMSC, says that the committee ensures that women below 18 are not drawn into sex work. It helps those who have forcibly been brought to a brothel to return home.

Q: What is the licensing issue all about?

Several countries in Asia have licences for sex workers. There are some in India who are demanding that as well. If you are licensed, the state will recognise sex work as a profession. But many sex workers don?t think this is a very good idea. They believe it would give the police ? who would be the licensing authority ? the power to further exploit workers. Licensing sex workers would also mean that there would be some who would not be licensed, and would face further exploitation. ?Licensing would not just lead to licence raj, it would also mean taking control of women?s lives,? says Meena Seshu, of a Maharashtra group, Sangram.

Q: So, what?s the way out?

Most believe that the first thing that needs to be done is to decriminalise sex work. ?There is no question of ?legalising? sex work, because red-light areas exist and are a visible part of any city,? says Ghosh. ?What sex workers are demanding is that they be treated like anybody else.? Decriminalising would, for instance, make it possible for a sex worker to send her child to a neighbourhood school. It could also mean that police would have to lodge a complaint filed by a sex worker. ?Right now, a sex worker cannot ever file a complaint about being raped,? says Murthy.

Q: So where does the debate move from here?

It?s an issue that more and more groups are taking up. Sangram has initiated a discussion in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. On Wednesday, it will open a dialogue between women?s groups and sex workers in Bangalore.

In November, it hopes to initiate a similar discussion in Calcutta. ?What we are saying is just one thing: sex workers are human,? says Seshu.