I am Shabana Goundi. I am the general secretary of VAMP (Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad),based in Sangli,Maharashtra. It is a collective of 5,511 men,women and transgender sex workers who believe that they must represent themselves and fight for their rights. Mein dhanda karti hu. (I am a sex worker). I have been part of Sangram (an NGO working in south Maharashtra and north Karnataka for the prevention of HIV) for over 21 years,VAMP originated from it around 15 years ago. As a member of VAMP,we help others like us,we inform people about HIV and AIDS and tell them how to protect themselves. We give medicines to those who need it. We run a hostel for the children of sex workers in Nippani,Belgaum. We have 40 children there. At first,I was informally associated with Sangram. But then an incident occurred. I once came across a man who was very unwell. That was the first time I saw the effects of HIV. I looked after him for nearly three years. That is when I realised that human life is more important than this dhanda. We have staged a play on the lives of sex workers,My Mother,The Gharwali,Her Maalak,His Wife. It is a true story,it is not a naatak. We travelled across India with it. It shows that we do our dhanda because men come to buy our services. I recently returned from the Sex Workers Freedom Festival in Kolkata. The festival highlighted the police and social atrocities we face on a daily basis. The festival was organised to protest American law,which denies visas to sex workers. We dont understand that. Why cant we be granted visas? We feel women around the world are one,perhaps they will understand us. At the festival,we discussed and demanded different freedoms such as freedom to associate and unionise,freedom to access quality health services,freedom to be protected by the law,freedom from abuse and violence,freedom from stigma and discrimination,freedom of movement and to migrate,freedom to work and choose occupation and freedom to achieve financial security. What is freedom you ask? I will say it is the freedom to choose. It is the right to live the way we want. People dont understand that. I came into this work myself. No one forced me. I dont like bandhans (relationships). This is my life,this my choice. I feel movies etc,show sex workers in the wrong way. Like everyone else,we have moments of joy and sadness. But we are proud people. I have abhimaan (pride) and adhikaar (rights). (As told to Nandini Nair)
