Kamathipura – An Outsider’s Perspective
We stood on a busy street surrounded by the bustle of activity as the city prepared for the evening rush. The streets teemed with life as buses and rickshaws attempted to share the road with stray dogs and bicyclists. Sounds of car horns and wallahs called out to us as we passed by. Even the air was thick with every smell you can imagine, from chai to street foods to the stink of trash and smog. To a foreigner this would be a total overload of the senses. But this was a typical evening in Mumbai.
Our group was led by our guide and friend, Raj. He helped us navigate the frenzy of activity to lead us to a narrow lane that intersected the main road. Before us laid the network of lanes known as Kamathipura.I heard the word Kamathipura often as I was preparing for my trip to Mumbai. But looking back, I can say now that I didn’t know what Kamathipura was. Yes, I knew it was a red light district. But I didn’t know it was the largest in Asia. Yes, I knew the area was flooded with prostitutes, pimps and drug addicts. But I didn’t know that families who couldn’t afford to live anywhere else lived there as well. I imagined a world of night clubs, disco balls and bright lights. In reality, I had no idea what Kamathipura was.Before Raj led us in, he gave us a pep talk with a list of do’s and don’ts. “We are heading into a very dangerous area. I need every girl to pair up with a guy. Girls, don’t make eye contact with the men we pass. Guys, you are responsible for the girl next to you. Don’t let her out of your sight. You must pay attention and stay together. Walk fast and don’t talk. Don’t draw any unwanted attention. Don’t take pictures. And don’t...I repeat…DON’T get lost.” I took a deep breath…off we went.
As we entered Kamathipura, one of the first things I noticed were the buildings. Since the history of Kamathipura dates back to the early 1800’s, it’s not surprising to believe that buildings here are hundreds of years old. They are dilapidated, dirty and tightly packed together. From the narrow lane, it felt as if they were leaning into us, ready to swallow us whole.
As we continued on, I started to take notice of the people. There were men, young and old, gathered in front of chai stalls. There were small children playing outside while their mothers prepared dinner on portable cooking stoves outside of makeshift 1-room huts. There were women walking by, carrying vegetables from the local market. If I had stumbled into this neighborhood, I would guess I was just in another poverty stricken section of Mumbai. But this is Kamathipura, a 14 lane district crowded with brothels and sex workers. Drugs and alcohol addiction prevails in this area and violence is the norm (thus, the reason for Raj’s pep talk).
I learned a lot of horrifying details that day. Almost every building we passed was home to a brothel filled with young girls brought from villages and neighboring countries, deceived by the ones they trusted most. They come with the promise of marriage, better lives and employment but instead are sold to brothel madams. They are kept in cages, beaten, mentally abused and raped daily until they are ‘broken’. They are forced to use drugs until they themselves are addicted. Most have some form of STDs and statistics show that almost 50% of the women are HIV positive (Hughes). Once they are completely reliant on their owners, they are allowed out to solicit themselves on the streets. They are told they must buy back their freedom by renting brothel beds (it takes up to fifteen years for girls held in prostitution via debt-bondage to purchase their freedom (Hughes)). They are told that if they leave, their families will be hurt. Even worse, they are told their families will never accept them back. In essence, they are brainwashed...
More than addiction in the body, these women are slaves in their own minds. They are convinced that there is no hope for them. There is no life outside of the hell they live in. There is no one that will accept them for who they are.
Slavery is defined as a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty and fortune. On this day, I saw slavery at its core.
It has been 8 months since I’ve visited Kamathipura. There are estimates that approx. 200 girls and women in India enter prostitution every day, 80% of them against their will (Hughes). That means in 8 months, over 38,000 individuals have entered sex slavery. The numbers are staggering and the problem is very real.
Written by Jilu GeorgeWorks CitedHughes, Donna M. The Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation. 1999. 19 October 2012.<http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/india.htm>.