Context
Sonagachi, Kolkata’s largest red light district is home to at least 10,000 prostituted women. As the issue of sex trafficking fast gains traction in the world, activist groups, NGO’s, and non-profits are increasingly focusing on young girls and women caught in the cycle of sexual exploitation.
But in our global effort to end sex trafficking and gender-based violence and support women’s agency over their own bodies and lives, we cannot ignore or forget elderly women who have aged out of the sex industry and are now unable to eke out a living due to old age, stigma, trauma, or health issues.
Without resources or support, this stigmatized demographic is left with very few choices that may include:
- resorting to engaging in high-risk sexual services that may put their lives and health in danger
- begging on the streets
- remaining in abusive relationships
- dying alone on the roadside
About Our Vision: Pioneering Change
Asha Rising’s long-term goals include fostering meaningful relationships between women by occupying spaces in the red light district that can serve as permanent homes for women who have aged out of the sex industry and elderly sex workers who are HIV positive or living with AIDS. Our space will be an incubator for women wishing to live in a community that values women, social justice, and living life free of shame, blame, or stigma.
