MUMBAI, Dec 7: A bank run by sex workers in India’s biggest red light area is so successful it is not only helping prostitutes escape poverty that keeps them indebted to brothel owners but also build homes and educate children.

Located in Kamathipura, Mumbai’s red light district, the bank was started by a handful of sex workers driven by a desire to save for a time when their bodies stop earning.

With most of them without birth certificates or residence documents, prostitutes rarely are able to open accounts in banks.

Although prostitution is illegal in India, it is a thriving underground industry and voluntary groups estimate that there are about two million women sex workers, most of them trafficked or forced into the work by crippling poverty.

With most of their lives spent repaying the investment of the brothel owners, sex workers find it almost impossible to break away from the cycle of poverty and exploitation, and often turn to private moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. Most of the new bank’s customers say they are saving to build houses in their hometowns and villages.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...
Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.