Prostitution in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

(formerly Calcutta) is present in different forms and Kolkata's sex industry is one of the largest in Asia.

Prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

may be

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

-based or non-brothel based as in the case of call girls. India is regarded as having one of the largest commercial sex trades globally. Kolkata has many

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

s, out of which

Sonagachi Sonagachi is a neighbourhood in Kolkata, India, located in North Kolkata near the intersection of Jatindra Mohan Avenue (north of C.R. Avenue) with Beadon Street and Sovabazar, about one kilometer north of the Marble Palace area.} Sonagachi is ...

is the largest red-light district in Asia with more than 50,000 commercial sex workers.

Prostitute population

The total number of prostitutes in

is unknown. Some estimates state that there are more than 60,000 brothel-based women and girls in prostitution in Kolkata.Plight of prostitutes in Kolkata
Merinews.com. Retrieved on 23 October 2011. The population of prostitutes in

constitutes mainly of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese,

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and trafficked

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the p ...

women. Some sources estimate that are 30,000 Bangladeshi women in the brothels of Kolkata. According to some sources the most common form of trafficking consists in offering false promises or some offer of help out of a dead-end or crisis situation, force is used later after the prostitutes have already been sold. "''Mashi''s (brothel owners/older sex workers) use friendship, sympathy, also veiled threats to convince the women that it is now in their best interest to conform and begin working."

History of Prostitution

A farcical short-drama book named ''Beshyaleela'' ( বেশ্যালীলা ) was printed in the middle of the year 1880 written by an anonymous writer ( অজ্ঞাতনামা ). It is not very familiar or much discussed book till now. In this drama, a good description can be found about the negative attitudes shown by the then existing 19th century educated Bengali ''Babu'' class of people towards the prostitutes and the prostitution. From the first half of the 19th century, centering on Sonagachhi, a huge organised prostitution area surrounding Cornwallis Street on the east, and Chitpur on the west were formed. Although many areas in Calcutta were inhabited by those prostitutes outside those areas also. On the south it was Kalighat to Khidirpur dock areas, in the middle-Calcutta it was Kalinga-Fenwick Bazar, on the far south in Kareya area many girls from different social-classes of Hindu-Muslim-Christian communities were engaged with this profession. More than that, there was no clear 'mark' or 'boundary-line' between the 'gentleman areas' and the 'prostitutes areas'. Many areas had scattered or mixed up population of those two kinds. Rather, many areas could be termed as 'half-gentleman' areas, where normal gentleman's families and various types of prostitutes co-existed side by side. From the middle of the 19th century, the British colonial administration, Christian Missionaries, and native English-knowing educated 'Victorian' Indian gentlemen started campaign against prostitutes. This was their part of the project of social 'sanitation' process for creating the so-called 'gentle-society'. Under the leadership of Mr. Kaliprasanna Singha, the 'Vidyotsahini Sabha' ( বিদ্যোৎসাহিনী সভা ) submitted one mass-petition in the Indian Legislative Council.

Red-light districts

Bowbazar

Bowbazar has a

where about 12,000

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s work. The surrounding areas are inhabited by slum dwellers, truckers and migrant labourers. The adjacent Tiretta Bazar area is mainly a loadingunloading point with offices or

godowns A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, tow ...

of a large number of transport companies. The area is very unsanitary.

Garia

There is a small red-light district in Garia. There were plans to build a home for retired sex workers in the area.

Kalighat

In south Kolkata, there is a red light district in the neighbourhood of Kalighat. Located around the banks of the Adi Ganga canal, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 prostitutes live and work there. Kolkata has emerged as a hub for the trafficking of girls, who often arrive from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. From Kolkata they are often sold again to brothels in Mumbai (Bombay) or Chennai (Madras). Some will go on to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, Africa and Europe. Many of the women in Sonnagachi were forcedly taken away from their homes; some were tricked and others sold into prostitution by their friends and families; most of them are illiterate.

Kidderpore

The red-light district in Kidderpore is the third largest in Kolkata. NGO ''Apne Aap'' has a support centre in the area and has made two films about life in Kidderpore's red-light district: ''Kali'' and ''Shaadi Ka Shart Shauchalaya''.

Lebu Bagan

There is a small, little known red-light district in north Kolkata called Lebu Bagan. About 100 prostitutes work there in four streets.

Sonagachi

The largest

in Kolkata, is Sonagachi, it is also the largest red-light district in India. The area came to be known as Sona Gachi from a Sufi saint Sona Ghazi whose tomb (mazaar) is located in the locality. It is an area with several hundred multi-storey brothels, and around 10,000 sex workers. Sonagachi is located in North-Kolkata near the intersection of

Chittaranjan Avenue Chittaranjan Avenue, more commonly C.R. Avenue (Formerly Central Avenue), a principal north-south thoroughfare in Central-North Kolkata. It starts from Beadon Street (Dani Ghosh Sarani/Abhedananda Road) crossing (Girish Park) in the north and ...

Sova Bazar and Beadon Street, just north of the

Marble Palace Marble Palace (Мраморный дворец) is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace. Design and pre-1917 ...

. Previously there were many Bengali prostitutes in Sonagachi. But now-a-days Rajasthani and Khamia-Nepalese prostitutes have gained in number. According to class-division, the red-light areas of Kolkata are also divided into four different classes: poor-class, lower-class, middle-class, and rich-class. For example, The red-light area which once existed opposite to the diagonal angle of Khanna Cinema Hall was of 'poor-class'. When they contacted customers, they asked them "''Khat-e na Chot-e''" ? Which means, "Do you want to sleep in wooden cot or on jute-sheet spread over the floor?" As customers wished, the fee varied according to their choice. The lower-class and middle-class of prostitute areas were scattered around Haarkaata Gully and near Chetla/Kalighat bridge. Several non-government organizations and government organizations operate here for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) including

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Sonagachi project is a prostitute's cooperative that operates in the area and empowers sex workers to insist on

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

use; a relatively low percentage of prostitutes in this district (5.17% of the 13,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi) are estimated to be HIV positive. However, these efforts are hindered by

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

: refusal of clients to wear condom, and women controlled by third parties are forced to oblige. 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 The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee ( bn, দুর্বার মহিলা সমন্বয় সমিতি ''Durbar Mohila Shômonbôe Shomiti'' "Unstoppable Women's Synthesis Committee"), or simply Durbar, is a collective of 65,0 ...

is worried that HIV positive women will be ostracized."Welcome to Sonagachi – Calcutta's largest brothel area is thriving
Tom Vater (12 May 2004). Retrieved on 23 October 2011. 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."

Tollygunge

Tollygunge is a small red-light district located near

Prince Anwar Shah Road Prince Anwar Shah Road is a busy road of South Kolkata. It is named after Prince Gulam Mohammed Anwar Ali Shah, one of Tipu Sultan's 12 sons. Localities In the aftermath of the death of Tipu Sultan, during the battle of Mysore, the then Britis ...

Street prostitution

Street prostitutes work in Esplanade Crossing, opposite of cinema ‘Metro’ and in the street between Elite Cinema Hall and Regal Cinema Hall, Jagat Cinema near Sealdah station and under Sealdah flyover, and another place is Ultadanga flyover and railway foot over bridge, Kalighat and Garia. Also a very small level high class escort service operates here, mostly college student or housewives or executives. Generally they use hotels booked by client or the flat of their

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

Male prostitutes Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

often pick up clients in the

Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...

, particularly in front of the Victoria Memorial.

Call girl

Call girls operate independently and through pimps or escort agencies. Prostitution is operated from many beauty parlours and

massage parlors A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel. Context In 189 ...

in the city. ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' – 1 April 2007 Pimps (commonly called agents) in

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, star hotels and floorboys acting as agents generally keep catalogues with pictures of the call girls. The girls operate in places like flats, hotels, etc. Generally the call girls go to the rooms in star hotels. However, when the client cannot provide a place of convenience, the agents provide one and the place is generally decided on before. Call girls in Kolkata may come from middle class, upper middle class and upper-class families. They may be executives, housewives, college students or actresses. The

Kolkata Police The Kolkata Police Force (KPF) is one of the two presidency police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. Kolkata Police has the task of policing the metropolitan area (apart from Bidhannagar and New Town, which are served by the Bidhannag ...

have connections with many call girls working as their informers. Many criminals like to spend time with the girls. Hence some call girls are used by the police to get information about suspected criminals.

Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee ( bn, দুর্বার মহিলা সমন্বয় সমিতি ''Durbar Mohila Shômonbôe Shomiti'' "Unstoppable Women's Synthesis Committee"), or simply Durbar, is a collective of 65,0 ...

(DMSC), which runs the Sonagachi project and several similar projects in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, lobbies for the recognition of sex workers' rights and full legalization. DMSC hosted India's first national convention of sex workers on 14 November 1997, in Kolkata, entitled 'Sex Work is Real Work: We Demand Workers Rights'.

In popular culture

'' Born into Brothels'', a 2004 American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 2004. The documentary entitled ''Tales of The Night Fairies'' by Prof. Shohini Ghosh and Dr. Sabeena Ghadioke from Asia's leading Media institute AJK, Mass Communication Research Centre, is about the Sonagachi area. It has won the Jeevika Award for the best documentary feature on livelihood in India. Popular actor

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

's movie '' Mahanadhi'' has a storyline based on the Sonagachi. The film won three awards at the

41st National Film Awards The 41st National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1993. Ceremony took place in 199 ...

. It received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil and

H. Sridhar H. Sridhar (Sridhar Hariharan/H.Padmanabh) was an Indian sound engineer known for his work with the Indian musician A. R. Rahman. Sridhar was the Chief Audio Engineer at Media Artists Chennai. A mathematics graduate, with keen interest i ...

and K. M. Surya Narayan received the

National Film Award for Best Audiography The National Film Award for Best Audiography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards pres ...

. It also won Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Film. The Malayalam Film Calcutta News depicts the story of women being trafficked and forced to become sex worker in Sonagachi.

References

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Economic and Political Weekly The ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (''EPW'') is a weekly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all social sciences, and is published by the Sameeksha Trust. In January 2018, academic Gopal Guru was named the new Editor of the journal. Guru wil ...

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Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

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Law & Social Inquiry Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

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