An Indefinite Sentence by Siddharth Dube

Author:Siddharth Dube
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

Selvi

Nataraj quickly realized that the women desperately needed practical support. She began building alliances with health-care institutions, lawyers, and the government’s women’s rights and human rights agencies. Gynecologists came to brief the women on sexual infections and HIV. Feminist activists and lawyers introduced the women to issues related to their rights as citizens and to debates about gender and patriarchy. They, in turn, were sensitized to the particularly harsh difficulties faced by sex workers, marking the beginning of a long-term engagement.

From the discussions at the group meetings, Nataraj realized that she had to do something to help the women “build their self-respect and stop viewing themselves as ‘doing wrong.’ ” She was struck that they castigated themselves so bitterly for selling sex, despite the compulsions that had propelled them into the work. “Many of these women entered sex work because they had been abused or deserted by husbands, lovers, or family members,” said Nataraj. “Others wanted to supplement their husbands’ earnings because the money they made was too little for their families to survive on. In any case, entry into sex work also displayed the autonomy of these women, rather than solely their victimhood.

“So we encouraged them to share their life experiences—not only about the desertion, abuse, and violence but also about survival as well as hopes and aspirations for their children and their own relationships with husbands, lovers, and other family members. They gradually began to see themselves as strong women, women who would not be easily cowed.”

That awareness was very evident in the women I talked to. Thus, Mary Thomas said, “Every time something goes wrong, men put the blame on the women! Men say they go astray because of women. Men say they take to drink and drugs because of women. Men say they get HIV because of the prostitutes. The men never bear responsibility!”

One of the fronts that the group focused on almost immediately was tackling the violence the women suffered at the hands of the police. From the regular group meetings with the sex workers Nataraj realized that their “one common desire was to get the police off their backs.”

SIAAP first used persuasion. “Selvi, some sex workers from the locality, and I would go together to the local police station and discuss the issue,” said Nataraj. “The key was to touch the humanity of the cop in a completely nonjudgmental way. We pointed out that sex work had existed through the ages and often was a product of sexual desire of the client, on the one hand, and the poverty of the woman, on the other. We would tell them that there was no right or wrong involved, and the risk of HIV made it urgent for them to help both parties protect themselves—rather than take a moralistic stand.

“I think the cops bought the logic because many of them were also clients of sex workers. They appreciated our approach as well as the condoms and education material we left behind.

“For their part, the women became more

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