Danish GB Road Story 11-12 Final_Layout 1 11/3/2012 3:34 PM Page 1

O CTOBER2012

Sir, want to enjoy?

Danish Khan
Photo: Danish Khan

Sex workers trying to lure customers to their brothels on G. B. Road Sir, want to enjoy? Rs. 200 is the charge. Bengali, Haryanvi, Kashmiri and Malyali girls, aged between 16 to 21 are available. Sir, lets go have a look. Checking out wont cost you anything, he says. alk through the area and you will see many such pimps wandering around searching for potential clients. It is business as usual on G.B. Road, the capitals infamous Red Light area. Young women with excessive make up on their tired faces peep out of the iron-framed windows, their only source of contact with the outside world as they are seldom permitted to venture out of the dingy,
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old buildings. By afternoon, they are seen vigorously waving and gesturing at passers-by in an attempt to lure them into the brothels. After meeting with 10-15 clients on an average, they have their last meal and put the day to rest in the early hours of the morning. Almost 4500 sex workers living on G.B. Road follow this routine day after day. Even as Delhi-ites gear up to celebrate the festivities of Dussehra, Diwali and Eid, the young women who are trapped in these congested brothels have little to cheer. The only thing they are looking forward to is a bigger tip as there is more demand during the festival season.
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One such girl is 20-year-old Bimla, who came to Delhi from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, two and half years ago to work as a maid. She says she was forced into becoming a sex worker subsequently. When her family learnt about her profession, they disowned her. However, she still sends a part of her earnings to her family. She deeply misses her family, especially her younger sister. Today, her only contact with her sister is an occasional phone call. As the profession entails no breaks, the festivities actually boost the business and mean more time commitment from the workers. Usually, I get 10 to 20 clients per day and sometime even less if the market is down, says Bimla.

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O CTOBER2012

Sex workers look out of their dingy brothel rooms on a Sunday afternoon

During the festival season we get good business as clients pay anywhere between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 without creating a fuss and they also tip us well. Festival season is a really good time for our business. Otherwise when market is down, we make as little as Rs. 200 per client. The walls of Bimlas brothel are adorned with pictures of religious figures such as Gurunanak, Sai Baba and passages from the Holy Quran. During Dussehra and Diwali, I pray to God just like you people do and I ask for the same things you people ask for. But we get back to our work after drinking some alcohol as its a good time for our business and we dont want to lose out on the potential to earn good money. We all want to enjoy and not work but we cant afford to do this. May be, this is also a way to celebrate, says Bimla. Bimlas schedule is handled by the caretaker or the nayika (brothel head) in coordination with the pimps who bring in clients. Like the other girls, Bimla has accepted her routine as a
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During Dussehra and Diwali, I pray to God just like you people do and I ask for the same things you people ask for. Bimla Sex worker

sex worker as they ignite a desire in the sex worker to go out of this place which is not possible in any way. According to Bimla, army men also create a lot of trouble and treat sex workers badly. Sometime they beat us, abuse us and refuse to pay which is our right, she says. Head constable Baljeet Dhaiya who is posted on G.B. Road tries to shoo people away from the streets and prevent pimps and sex workers from luring clients. This is a very dirty place, he says. People should not stop here and be entertained by sex workers. They should mind their own business and move on. Its the public who is responsible for all this mess. During the festival season, the policy deploys extra staff in the area, he adds. Rani, a sex worker from West Bengal, sounds despondent about the festival season. Festivals dont really make a difference to her. Koi farak nahin padta. Yehi hota aaya hai aur hota rahega. maildanishahmad@gmail.com

part of her life a life at is punctuated by clients, pimps and the brothel-incharge. Vijay, a pimp who is in the business since the last 12 years, says he hates it when clients create a mess. Many young and old fellows come here drunk and abuse us - pimps, nayika (brothel head) and the sex workers, he says. They demand to take the sex workers out with them which is strictly not allowed. Also, some of the clients become regular to the Kothas and get attached to one sex worker and at times they fall in love and try taking her out which is not allowed. That is where they create trouble for themselves and the
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Photo: Danish Khan