"They think I work in garments"
This is the brilliant book cover designed by Sehr Athar for our labour of love: "They think I work in garments: HIV and Sex Work in Chittagong".We chose this title because most of the women we interviewed answered with that - "they think I work in garments" - when we asked them if their families knew about their lifestyles. Interviewing them was heartbreaking. I could hardly believe we were sitting face-to-face and chatting with women who were living these incredible and tragic lives. As they shared their tales with us they would sometimes cry and we had to fight to keep from dissolving into tears ourselves. The sex industry in Asia is enormous and lucrative, generating billions of dollars, and claiming the souls of young girls and women each second. We sometimes got frustrated that all their stories sounded so similar.. we thought it would sound repetitive.. but then we realised that that was the tragedy.. that their stories were all the same, too many women are experiencing this and more people need to be aware. Here are three examples of case studies we featured in our publication.
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Glossary:
coolie - porter
mastan - local terrorist/criminal/bully, often having political affiliations
dalal - agent, pimp
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Nazleen
30 years old
I came to Chittagong when I was very young with a group of women who used to sell vegetables in my village. In Chittagong I lived on the streets for a while, begging and eating scraps of vegetables off the roads. The municipality wanted to clear up the streets one year and sent me off to jail with a batch of other street kids. After staying one year in prison, a woman whom I didn’t know arranged an early bail for me. She told me to go with two men, whom she called “uncle”, and said that she would follow. They took me to a house which I soon found out was a brothel. I learned quickly that the woman was a dalal and had sold me to the two men, keeping me in debt while I thought that I was going to be free. I managed to escape from the brothel and in wandering the streets once again, I arrived at Cinema Palace. It was there that a boy put a sedative in my tea; I lost unconsciousness and was raped. This is how I entered sex work. It has now been 10 years. I got married five years ago; my husband lives in Sitakund and he knows what I do for a living.
Rizwana
18 years old
My stepmother, who was very mean to me, forced me into marriage when I was in class six. My husband worked as a coolie and because of his drug addiction, he hardly ever gave me any money. One day he left me. It was then that I came on my own to Chittagong. I wanted to get into garments, but I knew no one in the city who could introduce me to this profession. I didn’t even have a chance to try; when I arrived at the Chittagong railway station I was raped by a group of both police and mastans. Then they kidnapped me and forced me into this profession two days after I had arrived in the city.
I think that this profession is bad. I think that sex workers are bad. However, I earn more money from this work than I would in garments or labour. I wish I could leave this profession because I read up to class six, and I wouldn’t have to lie to my family about my work if I was in a different profession.
Priyu
25 years old
I escaped from my uncle’s place when I was 13 because he was beating me. I came to Chittagong where I met a guy who arranged a marriage for me with a truck driver who had property here in Chittagong. My in-laws harassed me because I didn’t bring any dowry. When I complained my husband told me to get out and leave our two daughters with him. So one day, after my mother-in-law beat me, I left and started living with this woman that I met, Gulshan. She told me that she was working in a garments factory and that she would help me get a job. One day Gulshan brought a guy to our house who said he could find me a job. She left us alone and he raped me. He was my first client. After the incident, I had to stay with Gulshan because I didn’t know anybody else in Chittagong and had no money. She brought men to the house regularly, and threatened me with a blade if I didn’t serve them. At that time, she didn’t pay me, but when I began to have sex willingly she stopped beating me and began providing me with food and clothing. I became pregnant and Gulshan forced me to leave her home because I was not married. My boyfriend and I moved in together and I became friends with the girl next door who later was very supportive when my boyfriend left me. She told me that there was an educated boy who wanted to marry me. The boy and I got to know each other before marriage, and he was so nice and never touched me. He put me up in a furnished apartment and gave me money. I thought he was a good man so I married him. I soon became pregnant again. I soon found out that he was a pimp; I had really thought that he loved me. But he forced me to have sex with other men. He beat my son because he was the child of another man. When I gave birth to my fourth child, my husband married another girl. He’s now in jail.
30 years old
I came to Chittagong when I was very young with a group of women who used to sell vegetables in my village. In Chittagong I lived on the streets for a while, begging and eating scraps of vegetables off the roads. The municipality wanted to clear up the streets one year and sent me off to jail with a batch of other street kids. After staying one year in prison, a woman whom I didn’t know arranged an early bail for me. She told me to go with two men, whom she called “uncle”, and said that she would follow. They took me to a house which I soon found out was a brothel. I learned quickly that the woman was a dalal and had sold me to the two men, keeping me in debt while I thought that I was going to be free. I managed to escape from the brothel and in wandering the streets once again, I arrived at Cinema Palace. It was there that a boy put a sedative in my tea; I lost unconsciousness and was raped. This is how I entered sex work. It has now been 10 years. I got married five years ago; my husband lives in Sitakund and he knows what I do for a living.
Rizwana
18 years old
My stepmother, who was very mean to me, forced me into marriage when I was in class six. My husband worked as a coolie and because of his drug addiction, he hardly ever gave me any money. One day he left me. It was then that I came on my own to Chittagong. I wanted to get into garments, but I knew no one in the city who could introduce me to this profession. I didn’t even have a chance to try; when I arrived at the Chittagong railway station I was raped by a group of both police and mastans. Then they kidnapped me and forced me into this profession two days after I had arrived in the city.
I think that this profession is bad. I think that sex workers are bad. However, I earn more money from this work than I would in garments or labour. I wish I could leave this profession because I read up to class six, and I wouldn’t have to lie to my family about my work if I was in a different profession.
Priyu
25 years old
I escaped from my uncle’s place when I was 13 because he was beating me. I came to Chittagong where I met a guy who arranged a marriage for me with a truck driver who had property here in Chittagong. My in-laws harassed me because I didn’t bring any dowry. When I complained my husband told me to get out and leave our two daughters with him. So one day, after my mother-in-law beat me, I left and started living with this woman that I met, Gulshan. She told me that she was working in a garments factory and that she would help me get a job. One day Gulshan brought a guy to our house who said he could find me a job. She left us alone and he raped me. He was my first client. After the incident, I had to stay with Gulshan because I didn’t know anybody else in Chittagong and had no money. She brought men to the house regularly, and threatened me with a blade if I didn’t serve them. At that time, she didn’t pay me, but when I began to have sex willingly she stopped beating me and began providing me with food and clothing. I became pregnant and Gulshan forced me to leave her home because I was not married. My boyfriend and I moved in together and I became friends with the girl next door who later was very supportive when my boyfriend left me. She told me that there was an educated boy who wanted to marry me. The boy and I got to know each other before marriage, and he was so nice and never touched me. He put me up in a furnished apartment and gave me money. I thought he was a good man so I married him. I soon became pregnant again. I soon found out that he was a pimp; I had really thought that he loved me. But he forced me to have sex with other men. He beat my son because he was the child of another man. When I gave birth to my fourth child, my husband married another girl. He’s now in jail.
posted by Salima :) at 12:43 a.m.
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