We came in search of Job, but could never have imagined we would end up working in this profession. We come from Madras, Nepal, Bengal along with other cities, villages and areas in India, with the promise of a job, but we are then forced into working as prostitutes. Our families think we are working, married, and living happy lives – they don’t know we are sex workers.
G.B road is the biggest red light district in India’s Capital – New Delhi. The traffickers told us we would be earning around 40-50 Rupees (54-67 rupees a day) working, but we never thought it would be as a sex worker in a red light district. They leave us in such a place, how are we ever supposed to find our way home.
I was 13-14 when they brought me to a place like this. How was I supposed to know what was happening a that age. The Nyka (woman who owns us sex workers) at brothel no. 42 asked me if I was hungry, and offered some food. I did not know what I was getting into. The Nyka sits upstairs and supervises our work, then at the end of the day she collects everyones money.
To do this job they (Nyka and her sons) keep us intoxicated, their main objective is to make as much money from us as possible. We have to keep going until our bodies give up. If they get the slightest hint of us running, they will lock us up in a small room upstairs and beat us with rods and belts. Still, if we get the opportunity to run we will, the best chance is during police raids.
When working during the day we stand outside looking for clients, and sometimes we are abused by people, being hit, and called “Whores”. What can we do! They hit us and run. We work all day and night, and take whoever we get. Fat, young, old, attractive, unattractive, we have no choice. They come high on drugs, and some don’t pay so we have to beat it out of them.
The people who live on G.B road have a difficult life. The kids that grow up here become drug dealers or pickpockets. Some who manage to avoid that life are scared to show their Identity cards to schools, employers, and others, as it is very shameful. Nobody wants to take in a person from G.B road. So, some people don’t finish their education, they find it difficult to get a job and they have to see men come in and out of their buildings. We have to hide our identities, our government documents, because they show G.B road.
We have seen everything there is to see, there is nothing left to see. How many lives have been ruined because of sex?