Copyright thehindu
One of the largest red-light areas in Kolkata’s Sonagachi, with over 12,000 sex workers, celebrates the 13th edition of their Durga Pujas. Started in 2013, the women of the area erupted in joy as MLA Madan Mitra inaugurated their Durga Puja pandal in the heart of north Kolkata. “I am a worker; you are a worker. Every single person works for money. Then why do we criticise sex workers for their work? They are working with dignity, not stealing money from anyone,” Mr. Mitra, who is also the President of the Durbar Mahila Durgatsav Committee’s President said while inaugurating the puja. This comes in context that even though Durga Puja idols are made with the soil from the Sonagachi’s red-light area, the sex workers from the region are not allowed inside any of the pandals due to social taboo. But they refused to give up on their right to access their Goddess Durga which is popularly known as the festival for all. This led the women of the area fight for their rights. They went to the Calcutta High Court in 2013 and got an order which allowed them to start their own Durga Puja inside the red-light area. When they wanted to do their own Durga Puja, they were met with violence and resistance from locals. The sex workers of Sonagachi complaint that locals said they are “tainted” women and conducting their own celebrations of Goddess Durga would be an “impure” affair. They faced both physical and verbal abuse trying to get their basic rights of celebrating festivals. But they did not budge. After the High Court order they were allowed to conduct their Durga Puja, but they remain limited to a small area. But the very plan of their own Durga Puja brought outpouring joy in the lanes of Sonagachi, the women celebrated in full fervour, adorning the pandal with colours, music, and rituals that marked a long-cherished dream of their own Puja. “Durga Puja is for everyone. They take the soil from our courtyard to make their idols, but do not allow us in the same Durga Pujas. Why this discrimination? I feel happy that we were able to fight for our rights and grab the opportunity to celebrate our puja,” a sex worker in Sonagachi told The Hindu, wishing to stay anonymous to protect her identity. Mr. Mitra added that through years of fight, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (a sex workers’ collective) has won basic human rights for the sex workers, and with time, they will also be able to achieve their main goal of being recognised as workers under the Indian law. “Our Durga Puja is a landmark step towards getting recognition in society. In the long run we will continue this same fight to get our workers’ rights,” Bishakha Laskar, secretary of DMSC. With over 40,000 members across West Bengal, Durbar has vowed to start Durga Pujas across multiple districts to ensure that their workers can enjoy festivities across the State with equal respect. They have already started Durga Puja in four other centres of DMSC in Durgapur, Asansol, Bishnupur, and Alipurduar. They wish to start more in the coming days.
