E-Paper
#HTSpotlight: Police raids deteriorating our business, says sex worker in Pune’s Budhwar peth
Since January 2019, nakabandis have been implemented during the night and now the situation is that our customers are fearful and do not want to come here, said the commercial sex worker.
Various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have alleged that commercial sex workers suffer verbal and physical abuse during the arbitrary raids and nakabandis which are conducted by the city police in Budhwar peth’s red-light area.
These findings were reported by Saheli Sangh, a sex workers’ rights organisation working in Budhwar peth since the past 20 years along with Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM), people’s union for civil liberties. It is supported by the National Network of Sex Workers (India), which is working in 11 states of India since 1997.
The police raids and nakabandis have been conducted since January this year.
The fact-finding team conducted visits from May 20 to 22 and held individual and group meetings with sex workers in different parts of Budhwar peth, as well as with police officials and other stakeholders in the area.
Seema (name changed) who hails from West Bengal and lives in Budhwar peth since the last ten years, said, “We are already living in bad conditions here from the past two to three years as the business has gone down. Our business is based on cash, but due to demonetisation we have suffered losses. The police are conducting raids and nakabandi (blockade) in the area which is deteriorating our business further. Since January 2019, nakabandis have been implemented during the night and now the situation is that our customers are fearful and do not want to come here. They demand that our girls come outside, which is not always possible for most of us, and becomes a costly affair. We want to cooperate with the police during raids, but our request is that the police should not misuse their power against girls who are not foreigners (Bangladeshi) and are above 18 years of age.
