Kolkata sex workers protest at ancient ritual

[Guest guest]

Kolkata sex workers protest at ancient ritual

 

Press Trust of India

Kolkata, October 18

Sex workers in Kolkata are up in arms over an ancient ritual in

which earth dug from near brothels is offered as a symbol of

fertility to the goddess Durga.

 

Hindu priests are digging up the soil before Durga Puja, West

Bengal's biggest annual festival. The festival is dedicated to the

demon-slaying goddess and will be held later this week.

 

"We are against the ritual as it only helps in perpetuating

(illegal) prostitution," said Swapna Gayen, president of Durbar

Mahila Samannay Committee.

 

The committee, an organisation of sex workers, is calling for the

legalisation of their profession and the removal of the stigma

attached to it.

 

"We are branded as prostitutes and ostracised by society. This

practice only adds insult to sex workers' injuries. How long should

we bear it?" she asked.

 

Sex workers are holding a door-to-door campaign to rally opposition

to the ritual but priests said their criticism had no basis.

 

"We think the ritual is an honour to sex workers, without which the

worship of the goddess remain incomplete. The tradition goes on from

time immemorial," said Ajoy Banerjee, a priest in Kolkata's famous

Kalighat Temple.

 

He said the ritual honouring fertility was important because the

festival preceded the harvest in the state.

 

Kolkata's 60,000 sex workers have been active in voicing their

rights such as the use of condoms by clients. They have been at the

forefront of a campaign seeking to legalise prostitution in India.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7242_1063753,00180007.htm