Moving from darkness into democracy, rehabilitated sex workers get voting right

The childhood of Jhilmil (not her real name) in Vasco unfolded against a backdrop that differed bleakly from that of the other children around her. For her, the norm was not the familiar routine of school and play. Instead, it was witnessing her mother navigate the complexities of life as a sex worker.

At a tender age, Jhilmil was lured into the trade that defined her mother’s existence.

It was not a choice, but a circumstance thrust upon her. It was not until the demolition of Baina’s red-light area in 2004 that a glimmer of hope shone on her fate.

After she was rescued from the menacing shadows, it took her two decades to finally grasp a fundamental right she had long been denied — the power to vote. “I am a citizen of this country as much as anyone else and I have every right to participate in choosing my leader,” Jhilmil told TOI.

Her voice was resilient in the face of adversity. In the May 7 Lok Sabha elections in Goa, the 30-year-old will exercise her franchise for the first time. With her voter’s ID, she also gains access to essential services, including healthcare, previously out of reach due to bureaucratic hurdles. “Despite having an Aadhaar card and a birth certificate, I was denied free treatment at GMC due to the lack of the voter’s ID.

I had to discontinue treatment after a while,” she said. Now, she will resume her treatment and even apply for a driver’s licence to finally fulfil her dream of independent mobility. Her struggle echoes that of many others like her, ensnared in the vicious cycle of exploitation and marginalisation. Rekha (the name changed to protect her identity), another survivor, recounts her arduous journey to obtain a voter’s ID after losing her documents during a police raid.

Her story is rife with instances of societal stigma that hinder her pursuit of basic rights and dignity. “Many trafficked women lack documents to show the proof of birth or address and are dependent on their pimps for basic amenities such as ration and SIM cards and an LPG cylinder,” she said. “Obtaining the voter’s ID changes the situation for me and my sons.

They will never have to go through the same struggles.” Arun Panday, the founder of Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), pointed out that the survivors do not approach anybody for basic requirements since they are stigmatized. Moreover, because they are not a vote bank, policymakers do not think about them. In this election, ARZ approached state govt to grant the women voting rights, and as a result, 27 applications were made.

A total of 12 survivors will be able to vote. The applications of the 15 others who do not have address proof were rejected. “Their landlords are reluctant to share address proof.

We will write to the chief electoral officer to make an exception for the 15 women and send the booth-level officer to their place of current residence to verify the address,” Panday said. As Jhilmil prepares to cast her vote after countless nights of being silenced by society’s indifference, her journey from darkness to democracy emerges with a sliver of hope for the marginalised and forgotten.