Sex Workers Network (SWN) of Bangladesh met the Tangail Deputy Commissioner Mahbub Hossain at his office yesterday and submitted a memorandum regarding the eviction of Kandapara brothel workers.
They also met the district’s Additional Police Super Hasibul Alam, Public Prosecutor S Akbar Khan and Mayor Shahidur Rahman Khan Mukti, followed by a visit to the brothel.
The memorandum mentioned the floating lives of the 800 sex workers who were evicted from the brothel earlier this month.
The sex workers were evicted from the brothel on July 13, following a demand from the activists of Ashamajik Karjokolap Protirodh Committee (AKPC), an organisation that aims to prevent anti-social activities, on July 4.
With no scope for rehabilitation, the evicted sex workers have nowhere to go and have to live on the streets.
“No girl is born as a sex worker. Poverty, trafficking, betrayal by loved ones, etc compel them to become one,” said the SWN activists in the memorandum.
They also said most of the brothel’s residents were living in extreme poverty with their children growing up in confined places.
Despite that, they claimed that the Kandapara sex workers lived in peace with the civil society, and incidents of violence instigated by them were unheard of.
The sex workers provided for their families with their earnings, and evicting them without rehabilitation was a violation of human rights, claimed the SWN activists.
“The sudden eviction of the brothel has made the sex workers vulnerable. This is why we are seeking the government’s help in taking the necessary steps to rehabilitate them. The evicted also blame the society for their situation,” they said.
In the memorandum, the SWN leaders put down six demands to aid the sex workers, including the prevention of unplanned eviction at brothels, long-term plans by the state to prevent young girls from joining prostitution, and discussions with sex workers on sustainable alternative livelihoods for them.
The Tangail district commissioner assured them that necessary steps would be taken to resolve the matter.
When the SWN team met the mayor at his office, he said: “Please give me a written document on the matter, then I will take up initiatives with the district administration.”
The team included SWN Vice-President Chumki Begum, former secretary Shahnaz Begum, Rownak Jahan, Abeda Sultana, Sonia Afrin of Care Bangladesh, Tahmina Khatun of Brac, Mahmuda Shelly of MPS, Hirok Chowdhury of HASAB, Jahanara of RPDO, and Monju Rani Pramanik of SUPRO, among others.