SOCIETY

A 'Grameen Bank' for Sonagachi sex workers

      Kolkata: Bangladesh economist Muhammad Yunus may have won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create economic and social development from below through his Grameen Bank, but many would be surprised to know that sex workers in Kolkata's Sonagachi red-light district have a similar bank catering to their financial needs. The bank is an attempt to make a difference in the lives of the sex workers. Interestingly, people associated with the endeavour have been related to the flesh trade, directly or indirectly. The Usha Multi-purpose Co-operative Society, helps the sex workers, who are often boycotted by society, meet their monetary requirements. Women brought to Kolkata from some of the remotest parts of the country are barely able to maintain a record of money borrowed or the interest charged by these modern-day shylocks. But the cooperative society, which began with 13 members, is today a big help for 8,000 members, most of whom are sex workers and their dependents. Most of the bank's employees are children of sex workers. "We can deposit money and take it out as and when needed. That way our money gets saved. I have taken a loan and bought a house for myself and my children with the help of the bank and now I am very well off compared to what I was earlier," said Rama Saha, a sex worker, who has benefited from the society.

     The cooperative society provides all services that any commercial bank offers, like educational loans, housing loans and savings accounts and charges interest much less than the organised banking sector. "There are a lot of benefits which we get from the bank. Like in the savings account we can save money or take it out whenever we need it. We can also take loans, which are at very low interest rates. We also get loans for houses," said Julie Patua, a bank employee and daughter of a sex worker. With more than 80 million rupees (1.73 million dollars), the cooperative society seeks to ameliorate the condition of sex workers. "We found that there were a lot of girls who were living a horrible life due to these moneylenders charging high interests and harassing them. So we thought of starting this bank. We began with 13 people. Now they know whom to trust and the number of members has gone more than 8000. We provide education loans for the children of sex workers and also give loans for houses," said Rekha Chatterjee, a sex worker and President of the Cooperative Society. Prostitution is outlawed in India but the country is estimated to have over two million sex workers living on the fringes of society. They have few rights and are often abused by both customers and police in almost all places. Estimates by some voluntary groups indicate the number of sex workers is growing by almost 10 per cent every year and at least 600,000 minors are also employed in the flesh trade. Women's rights groups have been demanding a legislation to ensure labour status for the sex workers for over a decade. Sex workers also accuse the government of violating human rights and are furious over a recent move to amend the existing Immoral Trafficking Prevention (ITP) Act, which imposes a six-month jail and hefty penalty on those visiting brothels. The legislation, they say, will pave way for an even worse life for them.
-Nov 15, 2006

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