Delhi sex workers have said they are happy and eager to learn an alternative trade.
Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, sex workers in Delhi are being trained to make diyas, candles, incense sticks and other items in demand during the festival season, to make them self-reliant and move away from prostitution.
Sex workers welcomed the initiative by the Naina Activity Education Society, the Delhi Legal Services Authority and the Delhi Police saying they are happy and eager to learn an alternative trade.
"I am very happy making diyas. I want to do something with my life, learn, progress. This is the kind of work we all want. We would have taken to it earlier as well had we been given an opportunity. It's come now that half my life is spent, but I'm happy with that too," said Sunita, one of the 200 women from GB Road - Delhi's red light area where more than 2,000 women work as sex workers - who attended the workshop.
Another woman Puja said, "They have taught us how to make diyas, candles, incense sticks. We want these items to sell so our lives can improve."
The Delhi Police has said that it would become the sole customer of these products. "All the merchandise made by these women will be bought by the Delhi Police," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kamala Market) Anil Kumar said.
Besides learning a new trade, the DLSA will also help these women, mostly migrants.
"We have organised a three-day legal camp for these women. If anyone of them needs legal help to reclaim their rights, we are here to help in every way possible," Judge Gautam Manan, associated with the DLSA, said.
Among the most marginalised sections of the society, sex workers have been especially hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic because of loss of livelihood during the lockdown and then because of the health risk involved.
According to news agency PTI, over 60 per cent of Delhi's sex workers returned to their home states due to loss of means of livelihood, pushing many of them to the brink of starvation. However, to earn a living, many have resumed work despite running the risk of contracting COVID-19.