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May 01, 2009 17:25 PM
Sex Workers Will Not Labour Today
By P. Vijian
NEW DELHI, May 1 (Bernama) -- Sorry, we are not offering sex today! We are celebrating International Labour Day.
Sex takes a back seat (pardon the pun) for about 65,000 sex workers in West Bengal as they observed International Labour Day which falls today.
At the infamous and largest 'red light' area located in Sonagachi, Kolkata past midnight, about 10,000 people, including social workers, sex workers and politicians, held an eight-kilometre rally in conjunction with Labour Day.
"We are not working today, it's our right. Sex workers are doing real work, we need some respect and dignity. It is our livehood," Anisha (not her real name), a sex worker from the red light district, told Bernama in a telephone interview.
Anisha belongs to the well-established Durbar Mahila Samanwaye Committee (DMSC), a self-help forum with 65,000 sex workers based in West Bengal.
It is one of the most neglected professions in the economy, where sex workers toil in tough turf and prone to violence, yet shunned by society.
Now, they want equal rights, recognition and decent respect from society for the oldest profession in the world.
The committee's chief advisor, Dr Smarajit Jana, said the rally was an annual event to commemorate Labour Day -- where sex workers across the state try to take part to voice their plight.
And, on this day, they don't entertain their clients, he said.
"In this year's theme, they want to champion for a self-regulatory board, which had been initiated in 33 'red light' districts, to help improve the life of sex workers, prevent trafficking, violence against them and education for their children.
"They want this model to be replicated all over India for sex workers," added Dr Smarajit.
With national election in progress in India, sex workers in Kolkata are also pressuring political parties to recognise their labour rights and protect their profession.
-- BERNAMA
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