Sonagachi
Sonagachi | ||
|---|---|---|
Neighbourhood in State West Bengal | | |
| City | Kolkata | |
| Founded by | East India Company | |
| Named for | বেশ্যালয় | |
| Elevation | 11 m (36 ft) | |
Sonagachi is a neighbourhood in
Etymology
In
Red-light district
Current situation
Several
The Sonagachi project is a sex workers' cooperative that operates in the area and empowers sex workers to insist on condom use and to stand up against abuse. Run by the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, it was founded by public health scientist Smarajit Jana in 1992 but is now largely run by the prostitutes themselves. While some are crediting the DMSC with keeping a relatively low rate of HIV infection among prostitutes, around 5.17% of the 13,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi are estimated to be HIV positive.[7] This rate is close to the average HIV rate for female prostitutes in India, which is estimated to be 5.1%, though the HIV infection rate among prostitutes as well as among the general population varies widely by region in India.[8] According to some sources, prostitutes from Sonagachi who test HIV positive are not told about the results, and live with the disease without knowing about it "because the DMSC is worried that HIV positive women will be ostracized."[9] Some prostitutes in Sonagachi have stated that "the clients, at least three quarters of them" refuse to use condoms and "if we force them to use the condom, they will just go next door. There are so many women working here, and in the end, everyone is prepared to work without protection for fear of losing trade."[9]
Besides the Sonagachi project, the DMSC also runs several similar projects in
Popular culture
The documentary
Sahir Ludhianavi wrote
Ye duniya do rangi hai
Ek taraf se resham ode, ek taraf se nangi hai
Ek taraf andhi daulat ki paagal aish parasti
Ek taraf jismoñ ki qeemat roti se bhi sasti
Ek taraf hai Sonaagaachi, ek taraf Chaurangi hai
Ye duniya do rangi hai
Meaning:
This world is double-faced
One side covered with silk, the other naked
On the one hand, the hedonism of blind wealth
On the other, bodies sold cheaper than bread
On the one hand lies Sonagachi, on the other Chowringhee
This world is double-faced
There is also a documentary titled Tales of The Night Fairies by Prof. Shohini Ghosh and Dr. Sabeena Ghadioke from Asia's leading Media institute
Popular actor Kamal Haasan's movie Mahanadhi has a storyline based on the area. The Malayalam Film Calcutta News depicts the story of women being trafficked and forced to become sex workers in Sonagachi.[16]
In his documentary
See also
.svg){kind=small}
- Prostitution in India
- Prostitution in Asia
- Prostitution in Kolkata
- Prostitution in Mumbai
- All Bengal Women's Union
- Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee
- Kamathipura
- Garstin Bastion Road, New Delhi
- Budhwar Peth, Pune
- Male prostitution
References
- S2CID 150465047.
- ^ "After Fall in Business amid Lockdown, Experts Say Sex Workers from Kolkata's Sonagachi Have Gone 'Missing'". News18. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
- ^ "The new rhythms of jamshedpur: As the city's sex workers collective turns 20..." Mint. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
- ^ Girl-trafficking hampers Aids fight Archived 30 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine BBC news. 30 November 2004
- ^ "A Saint and Sin: How Sonagachi got its name". 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "In Sonagachi, keeping HIV away a daily battle". Indian Express. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "India HIV & AIDS Statistics". Avert.org. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Sonagachi – Calcutta's largest brothel area is thriving". Tom Vater. 12 May 2004. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ durbar.org Archived 19 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, home page of the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee
- ^ "DEAD ZONES: Fighting Back in India.; Calcutta's Prostitutes Lead the Fight on AIDS". The New York Times. 4 January 1999. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- ^ Sex work is real work: We demand workers rights, announcement of the 1997 sex worker convention Archived 12 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
- ^ "Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Welcome to AJK Mass Communication Research Centre". Ajkmcrc.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "review of the film Calcutta News". Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
Further reading
- Dutta, Debolina, and Oishik Sircar. “Notes on Unlearning: Our Feminisms, Their Childhoods.” In Feminism and the Politics of Childhood: Friends or Foes?, edited by Rachel Rosen and Katherine Twamley, 83–90.
- Open Society Foundations. “Sex Worker Health and Rights: Where Is the Funding?” JSTOR resrep35560
- Wright, Andrea. “‘The Immoral Traffic in Women’: Regulating Indian Emigration to the Persian Gulf.” In Borders and Mobility in South Asia and Beyond, edited by Reece Jones and Md. Azmeary Ferdoush, 145–66.
- Toorjo Ghose; Dallas Swendeman; Sheba George; Debasish Chowdhury (2008). "Mobilizing collective identity to reduce HIV risk among sex workers in Sonagachi, India: The boundaries, consciousness, negotiation framework". PMID 18455855.
- Jon Cohen (2004). "Sonagachi Sex Workers Stymie HIV". Science. 304 (5670): 506. from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- Ghose, Toorjo, Dallas T. Swendeman, and Sheba M. George. “The Role of Brothels in Reducing HIV Risk in Sonagachi, India.”
- Newman, Peter A. “Reflections on Sonagachi: An Empowerment-Based HIV-Preventive Intervention for Female Sex Workers in West Bengal, India.” JSTOR 40004560
- LCCN 2010052069. Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- Cornish, Flora, and Riddhi Banerjee. “How Do Relationships Between Peer Educators and Sex Workers Lead to Increased Condom Use?: A Social Capital Interpretation of the Sonagachi Project.” Indian Anthropologist 43, no. 1 (2013): 51–64. JSTOR 41920141
- Jana S, Basu I, Rotheram-Borus MJ, Newman PA. The Sonagachi Project: a sustainable community intervention program. AIDS Educ Prev. 2004 Oct;16(5):405-14. PMID 15491952.
- Karan A, Hansen N. Does the Stockholm Syndrome affect female sex workers? The case for a "Sonagachi Syndrome". BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2018 Feb 6;18(1):10. PMC 5802051.
- Ghose T, Swendeman D, George S, Chowdhury D. Mobilizing collective identity to reduce HIV risk among sex workers in Sonagachi, India: the boundaries, consciousness, negotiation framework. Soc Sci Med. 2008 Jul;67(2):311-20. PMC 2881846.
- Gangopadhyay DN, Chanda M, Sarkar K, Niyogi SK, Chakraborty S, Saha MK, Manna B, Jana S, Ray P, Bhattacharya SK, Detels R. Evaluation of sexually transmitted diseases/human immunodeficiency virus intervention programs for sex workers in Calcutta, India. Sex Transm Dis. 2005 Nov;32(11):680-4. PMC 2903624.
- Swendeman D, Basu I, Das S, Jana S, Rotheram-Borus MJ. Empowering sex workers in India to reduce vulnerability to HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Soc Sci Med. 2009 Oct;69(8):1157-66. PMC 2824563.
- Fehrenbacher AE, Chowdhury D, Ghose T, Swendeman D. Consistent Condom Use by Female Sex Workers in Kolkata, India: Testing Theories of Economic Insecurity, Behavior Change, Life Course Vulnerability and Empowerment. AIDS Behav. 2016 Oct;20(10):2332-2345. PMC 5016559.
- Swendeman D, Fehrenbacher AE, Ali S, George S, Mindry D, Collins M, Ghose T, Dey B. "Whatever I have, I have made by coming into this profession": the intersection of resources, agency, and achievements in pathways to sex work in Kolkata, India. Arch Sex Behav. 2015 May;44(4):1011-23. PMC 4382371.
- Rami Chhabra. “More on Sonagachi.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 42, no. 18, JSTOR 4419530.
- Nag, Moni. “Sex Workers in Sonagachi: Pioneers of a Revolution.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 40, no. 49, Economic and Political Weekly, 2005, pp. 5151–56, JSTOR 4417483.
- GHOSE, TOORJO. “Politicizing Political Society: Mobilization among Sex Workers in Sonagachi, India.” South Asian Feminisms, edited by ANIA LOOMBA and RITTY A. LUKOSE, .
- JSTOR 20108776.
- Dasgupta, Simanti. “Sovereign Silence: Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and Legalizing Sex Work in Sonagachi.” JSTOR 24497793.
Bibliography
- Dan, A.J.; Rosser, S.V. (2003). Women's Health and Medicine: Transforming Perspect. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. ISBN 978-1-558-61438-3.
- de Villiers, N. (2017). Sexography: Sex Work in Documentary. ISBN 978-1-452-95390-8. Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- García, M.R.; van Voss, L.H.; van Nederveen Meerkerk, E. (2017). Selling Sex in the City: A Global History of Prostitution, 1600s-2000s. Studies in Global Social History. LCCN 2017038467. Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- Sweetman, C. (2000). Gender in the 21st Century. Oxfam focus on gender. ISBN 978-0-855-98427-4. Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- Kerrigan, D.; Wirtz, A.; Baral, S.; N'Jie, N.D.; Stanciole, A.; Butler, J.; Oelrichs, R.; Beyer, C. (2012). The Global HIV Epidemics among Sex Workers. Directions in Development. LCCN 2012042983.
- Bagchi, J.; Gupta, S.D. (2005). The Changing Status of Women in West Bengal, 1970-2000: The Challenge Ahead. LCCN 2004017646. Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- Nath, M.B. (2001). From Tragedy Towards Hope. LCCN 2003428591. Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
External links
- Report on Sonagachi, critical of DMSC, by Tom Vater, The Irish Independent, 2004.
- The Red Lights of Sonagachi Positive Nation, Dec 2003/Jan 2004; issue 85/86
- Report on the Dunbar NGO, India Travel Times
- The Sex Workers, 2004 PBS Frontline documentary comparing anti-HIV efforts in Mumbai and Kolkata
- Giving AIDS the Red Light, The Village Voice, 18 September 2002
- Changing prices for sex work in Sonagachi, a Kolkata red-light district
- Living with dignity: an international development cooperation story for the Wikibook
Development Cooperation Handbook
