For city’s sex workers, vaccine only hope of a reversal in fortunes

Here, customers scoff at social distance. The mention of Covid certificates draws peals of laughter. This is the red-light or pleasure district of the state capital — Mali Sahi. No stranger to disease, the women working in these areas are desperately hoping that the government includes them on a Covid vaccine list soon.
When the lockdown dealt a blow to their business and pushed many to penury, they had no choice but to find other ways of survival.While help came from the Centre and the state government, NGOs and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the form of ration and some cash, it wasn’t enough.
When lockdown restrictions were eased, these women faced another hurdle — attracting customers with their masks on and faces hidden. Even scarier was the prospect of encountering a customer who could be a carrier of Covid. In such a scenario, the sex workers, despite initial reluctance, now want to take the vaccine and be done with the niggling worry, once and for all.
“Society overlooks the fact that we have families too. If we are not given the vaccine soon, we may endanger the lives of our children, husband and parents. As it is, the number of customers has dwindled. We cannot turn away the few that have started to come. All that we are asking for is to be vaccinated soon so that there is some protection from the virus,” said Chameli (name changed).
Namrata Chadha, a women’s rights activist and chairperson of the non-profit Mahila Adhikar Abhiyan, said, “Sex workers’ business is down 75%. Their rates have plummeted from Rs 200-300 a client to a meagre Rs 50 now. Now, moneyed customers are not returning to these squalid areas. It is imperative to vaccinate the sex workers before they lose all their clients.”
However Chadha also said this is easier said than done. Sex workers of tier-II cities hesitate to reveal their identity, making it difficult for the government to reach out to them. She said the government must encourage the workers to declare themselves as sex workers for it to register and initiate a vaccination drive for them, if at all.
Things are only slightly better for the transgender people who also work in the trade. “There is a difference in the attitude of the women sex workers and the transgender people. The latter have no qualms about flaunting their identity as society is embracing them slowly. Many of them have ID cards and are being given employment opportunities in the traffic police department, the BMC and government-run hospitals,” Chadha said.
Meera Parida, the first transgender vice-president of Biju Mahila Janta Dal, said there are around 3,000 transgenders in the state as per Election Commission data. Their actual number, she said, would be 25,000-30,000. “The situation in the rural belts is good. The Naveen Patnaik-government’s support to self-help groups, of which they are a part, has been enormous. For the small percentage of transgender people who are sex workers, getting vaccinated would certainly be a big help,” she added.
Meghna Sahoo, India’s first transgender driver, who also holds an MBA degree, agreed. “The fear of the virus remains among those who are into sex work. It will be helpful if the government considered vaccinating them.”
Another transgender, Sonam Mohapatra, said, “Our main source of earning is from dancing during marriage ceremonies and births of children. But the ban on big gatherings had put us out of work for a long time. Sex trade is just one of the many things we do for a living. The problem arises when customers refuse to take precautions.”