By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Nov 3:
With a view to help commercial sex workers (CSWs), the Maharashtra government has decided to provide Rs 5,000 per month to them until the COVID-19 pandemic is over and normalcy is restored.
Additional Rs 2,500 will be transferred to the bank accounts of CSWs who have children. The money to the CSWs will be paid from COVID relief fund.
The decision was taken after the Supreme Court released an order on September 29, directing all district administrations to ensure that all CSWs get dry ration and Rs 5,000 from the relief fund. The SC directions came in response to a petition filed by an NGO-the Darbar Mahila Samanvay Samiti. The Maharashtra Government had already directed collectors to ensure free ration and essential services to CSWs, recognising sex work as the “work” in July this year.
There are over 25,000 commercial sex workers in the state including Mumbai, Pune, Thane (Bhiwandi), Jalgaon, Parbhani, Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara. A majority are migrants from other states. Some of them are from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal.
In the meanwhile, a total of 154 CSWs have been identified from Satara for receiving the fund. Satara women and child development officer Rohini Dhawle said that 34 of the women will receive Rs 7,500 per month, while District collector Shekhar Singh said that the proposal is in its final stages and will be implemented at the earliest.
Singh said that constant efforts are being made to furnish the women with Aadhaar, PAN or voter ID cards to the women as most of them do not have them. He also pointed out that as several CSWs come to Maharashtra from other states, they face linguistic barriers and are unable to express their issues.
People across the country faced financial issues as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc and claimed several lives. Several people struggled to make both ends meet after the government announced a lockdown and urged people to remain indoors.
While on one side, businesses took a hit as people stayed at home, sex workers observed a sharp decline in the number of customers due to the lockdown. Stuck in their homes with no source of income, sex workers across the country battled a crisis amid the outbreak. Some of the private money lenders also swindled them charging very high interest on the money advanced.
