Calcutta to Host Carnival for 25,000 Prostitutes

Posted by Whistler on March 03, 2001 at 13:49:31:

Some interesting comments ... I guess it's too late to go. Calcutta to Host Carnival for 25,000 Prostitute CALCUTTA (Reuters) - Twenty-five thousand Indian prostitutes will gather in a Calcutta football stadium on Saturday to demand official recognition for their profession. The women will also take part in music and dance programs to display their talents in these arts at the three-day Millennium Milan Mela (Gathering of the Millennium). Prostitutes seeking a more dignified life will seek recognition as sex workers during the three-day carnival, a statement of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, a forum for sex workers, said Friday. "The gathering will act as a bridge between common people and prostitutes and remove some of the stigma attached to their profession by making clear that it is like any other job," said Smarajit Jana, adviser to the forum. A member of the forum, Bachchu Dutta, said prostitutes were like any other service industry workers and were doing a service for men who sought relief from stress and depression. Dutta said that prostitutes would use the occasion to demand they be given workers' rights so that they could form unions to fight against harassment. The Committee, however, would not ask the government to legalize the profession by granting licenses to prostitutes, he said. "All we want is that prostitutes be treated better," Jana said. West Bengal, whose capital is Calcutta, has around 60,000 prostitutes, several of whom are minors, volunteers said.

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