Forbesgunge, Jan. 14 :    Forbesgunge, Jan. 14:  During day, 24-year-old Hasma sometimes dreams of the baby she can't have. At night, she can do business 30 days a month without interruption for the same reason: she can't have babies. A sex-worker by profession, the tribal girl's uterus and ovaries were removed in a crude operation by a local quack a couple of years ago. Owners of the brothel here in north Bihar on the border with Nepal convinced her that without reproductive organs she would not contract sexually-transmitted diseases. 'Mausi boli ki bachchadani nikal lene se mujhe koi prakar ki bimari nahi hogi (Mausi said if I remove my reproductive organs, I will not have any disease),' said Hasma. She is among scores of women in brothels in this town and adjoining areas who have undergone hysterectomy. Most are from the backward Nat community, which traditionally initiates their women into the flesh trade. A study by two non-government organisations - Bhoomika and Manjari - in 17 brothels in the region reveals that hysterectomy is being used, ostensibly to protect sex-workers from AIDS. Unlike Hasma, 23-year-old Chhaya does not yet feel the pain of losing the ability to bear children. Also a Nat girl, her parents were more than happy when the frail, dusky girl was sold to a brothel four years ago. 'My reproductive organs were removed after I conceived a couple of years ago,' she said. While terminating her pregnancy, the doctor removed her uterus and ovaries. 'Now I don't have to suffer the trauma of conception and abortion. Moreover, I will never have AIDS,' Chhaya added, as if visited by a miracle. What she does not know is that she can still contract AIDS. The study has found at least seven Nat women who have been put through hysterectomy. Human rights groups are decrying the practice as one of the worst violations of basic human rights, drawing attention to the fact that this is the year of women's empowerment. 'This is the most barbaric way of fighting AIDS. Brothel-owners are going for a short-cut instead of promoting awareness among sex-workers,' said Kishori Das, general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties. Sex-workers who undergo the surgery are unaware of the implications. They are led to believe that the removal of reproductive organs will rid them of several encumbrances and enhance their earning ability. 'These women are like the living dead, working in automation without their soul,' says Aroon Kumar of Bhoomika. He is pressing for a thorough medical examination of the victims. The brothel in Forbesgunge is close to a hospital. Local social workers alleged a nexus between brothel-owners and private doctors. According to the study, caste plays a role since most of the victims belong to the backward Nat community, which is dogged by abject poverty and ignorance. After the revelation, the local chapter of the Unicef has started inquiring into the cases. Women's rights activists have launched a campaign demanding a comprehensive survey by the Bihar government. A delegation of women activists led by Akhil Bharatiya Mahila Manch president Suman Lal will visit the area shortly. Lal said she would move the National Women's Commission.