Unveiling the Struggles of Sex Workers and the Journey Toward Dignity
“Pinhaa tha daam-e-sakht qareeb aashiyaan ke
Udhne na paaye the ki giraftaar hum hue”
The above couplet by the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was referenced in my order in Budhadev Karmaskar vs. State of West Bengal, Cr. Appeal 135/2010.
Meaning of the Couplet:
Pinha: Hidden or concealed
Daam: Net
Sakht: Hard or cruel
Qareeb: Near
Aashiyaan: Nest
Giraftaar: Caught or arrested
The couplet translates to:
“Near the nest was the hidden cruel net (of a hunter),
Even before the chick could take its first flight, it was caught.”
In India, there are perhaps 20 million or more sex workers (prostitutes). These women are driven into this profession not because they enjoy it, but due to abject poverty. The massive poverty affecting about 75% of our population of over 1.4 billion people is the real cause of the exploitation of women.
To survive, these poor girls are forced to sell their bodies. These young girls, who deserve lives of happiness, are instead caught in the flesh trade at a very early age, their lives ruined.
I have compared these innocent young girls to the chick caught in the net of a cruel hunter during its very first flight.
Urdu poetry has, among other qualities, a unique feature: an Urdu verse can acquire meanings unintended by the writer. Surely, Mirza Ghalib, when he wrote the above couplet, never imagined it could be applied to sex workers!
Millions of sex workers in our country enter the flesh trade not out of choice but because of dire poverty. They become virtual slaves to brothel owners, pitilessly exploited and often brutally treated.
Once they enter the trade, they are ostracized by so-called ‘decent’ society. It cannot be said that they enjoy a life of dignity as envisaged by Article 21 of the Constitution, as interpreted by our Supreme Court.
In Buddhadev Karmaskar vs. State of West Bengal, Criminal Appeal №135 of 2010, the appellant had brutally killed a sex worker, and we upheld his conviction. However, after dismissing the appeal, we suo motu converted it into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for rehabilitating sex workers.
We believed that if sex workers were given technical training, they could earn a livelihood through other means instead of selling their bodies. Hence, we directed the Central and State Governments to prepare schemes for their rehabilitation and set up a committee, headed by a senior Supreme Court lawyer, to monitor this effort.
In my orders in this case, I extensively referenced world literature depicting the plight of sex workers:
IN the novels and stories of the great Bengali writer Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya, many prostitutes are portrayed as women of high character, e.g., Rajyalakshmi in Shrikant and Chandramukhi in Devdas.
THE plight of prostitutes is powerfully depicted by the great Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi in his poem Chakle, sung in the Hindi film Pyaasa (simplified as Jinhen Naaz Hai Hind Par Wo Kahan Hain).
IN Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Sonya Marmeladova is portrayed as a girl who sacrifices her body to support her impoverished family.
REFERENCE may also be made to Amrapali, a contemporary of Lord Buddha.
Sex Workers3
Sex among humans is different from that among animals; it has a cultural aspect and is not just a physical act. However, a sex worker who surrenders her body for money obviously does not do so out of love.
Ordinarily, no woman willingly surrenders her body to a man unless she loves and respects him. But for a sex worker, surrendering her body becomes a matter of survival. As Nancy says in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, “you adapt or you die.”
Sex workers are also at constant risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). They are often exploited, abused, and beaten by brothel owners, who give them a pittance from their earnings.
India has several million sex workers, including many from Nepal, Bangladesh, and even the former Soviet Union, driven into this trade by poverty.
Society must be educated to understand that sex workers are not immoral people but unfortunate girls forced into the flesh trade by poverty. Society should not look down upon them but instead sympathize with and support them.
World literature provides further insights into their plight:
IN Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment, Sonya Marmeladova is depicted as a woman of high character who becomes a sex worker to feed her starving family.
IN Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Nancy is portrayed as a woman of noble heart who sacrifices her life to save Oliver.
IN Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, Fantine sacrifices her hair and teeth to provide for her daughter Cosette.
IN Dickens’ David Copperfield, Martha is another example of a sex worker with a noble heart.
How Can Sex Workers Be Truly Rehabilitated in Society?
The suggestions in my order are only temporary measures. For a permanent solution, I refer to the book The Other Side of the River (also called Red China Today) by American writer Edgar Snow.
In Chapter 37, titled “Small-Devil Doctor,” Snow describes a discussion with Dr. George Hatem, an American doctor who led a team in China to eradicate venereal diseases after the 1949 Chinese Revolution.
Dr. Hatem’s team rehabilitated prostitutes by gaining their trust, providing medical care, and offering education and technical training. This empathy and effort allowed many of these women to reintegrate into society, free from stigma. Some returned to their villages, others became nurses or scientists, and many married.
Such a transformation will also be possible in India, but only after a historical people’s revolution, which is inevitable but will take time. 
Also Read: Child Sexual Abuse Cannot Be Ignored Anymore!
Markandey Katju
Justice Markandey Katju is former Judge, Supreme Court of India and former Chairman, Press Council of India.
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