Commercial sex workers peep out of a window in Mumbai's Kamathipura, considered Asia's largest red light district.
Residents of Mumbai's Kamathipura, considered Asia's largest red light district, have mounted a campaign to place a curb on the sex trade in the area. They are demanding that all commercial sex activity be confined to one lane, citing the stigma attached to their lives lived in the notorious address. Sex workers however have expressed helplessness, even as activists claim the move would only open up the area to property developers.
Close to 2,000 residents of Kamathipura have petitioned Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria, asking for the sex workers to be shifted out. The letter is to be followed by a signature campaign. They say commercial sex activity should be limited to Lane Number 11.
The letter written by residents says the stigma attached to the neighbourhood prevents them from getting good jobs and ruins marriage prospects.
"Children don't get admission in schools. Everywhere we are told 'Bombay-8' (reference to Kamathipura's PIN code) is not allowed. Girls don't get married into our families because they don't want to come to our homes," said Varsha Chawda, a resident of the area.
"All the surrounding areas are getting developed. This area is not seeing any development, only because it is Kamathipura", her husband, Anil, added.
While residents complain of inconvenience and stigma, sex workers say they don't have the luxury of better choices. "We came here out of poverty. We couldn't feed ourselves or take care of our parents," a sex worker told NDTV.
"The only reason we are here is for our children. This is all we know. If we get thrown out of here, we will consume poison and die," said another.
"Land around red light area is cheap. For so many years residents have co-existed with sex workers, now the new generation is giving these arguments because they lack a sense of history. This will help the builder lobbies because it's prime land once these people are out," said Meena Seshu, a commercial sex workers' rights activist.
Sex workers first settled in Kamathipura in 1795, when the British ruled India. However, the number of sex workers in the area has fallen from 50,000 in 1992 to 1,600 in 2009, according to the municipal body's figures.