Kolkata | When Hindu custom takes over brothels

The first time a man asked her for a shovelful of the soil that borders her house in the red-light district of Sonagachi, in the Indian megalopolis of Calcutta, Salima complied without thinking. But today, this sex worker no longer holds back her anger when this custom is mentioned.

Every year on the eve of the festival which celebrates the goddess Durga in October, insistent devotees lay siege to the brothels of this city in northeast India, in search of a little land to bathe or shape fetishes. bearing the image of the Hindu deity.

In her thirties, Salima (first name changed for the sake of anonymity) sees in the men’s interest in the brothel land only an illustration of her status in Indian society.

Desired when there is an immediate need, neglected and despised all the rest of the time…

“I have no dignity (in their eyes). For them, I am doing something wrong,” the young woman says indignantly. “But when they want the ground in my hand, suddenly they respect me. But what is this practice? I don’t understand, really…”

For the learned founder of the Sarva Bharatiya Prachya Vidya Academy, which teaches the holy Hindu scriptures, it is however perfectly clear.

“Men who enter the house of a sex worker leave everything that is good in them on the doorstep,” explains Jayanta Kushary, 64. “It is for this reason that the ground surrounding the house is considered sacred.”

The rituals of Durga Puja – the festivities in honor of the many-armed goddess, celebrated for her victory over a demon – stipulate that this land can only be used to “bathe” her statuettes.

But the families of Calcutta do not mind deviating from strict Hindu orthodoxy and use it directly to make a fetish, which they immerse in the sacred waters of the Ganges at the climax of the festival.

That of Samar Dutt has respected the tradition for more than a hundred years now.

He confides that he has adapted his practice to the constraints of the development of his city, with its omnipresent concrete and tar.

“The sex worker (now) goes to take a bath in the Ganges and picks up some dirt from the bottom,” he describes, “and then she places it in front of her house, where it is then picked up.”

“With disgust”

The streets of Sonagachi are particularly lively during the Durga Puja celebrations.

Soliciting a sexual favor is illegal in India, but prostitutes concede that police happily turn a blind eye to their activities in exchange for a handful of tickets.

Even if custom gives them an eminent role, sex workers regret the lack of respect shown to them by users of their land.

“They don’t even recognize us. They look at us with disgust,” laments Pushpa (first name changed). “And their wives think their husbands are being stolen from them just by talking to them.”

Among these “clients”, Samar Dutt is an exception. He prides himself on respecting prostitutes. “They do not constitute the dark side of our society”, he assures, “they are the equals of the others”.

“They are very important for our society,” adds Professor Kushary, who does not hesitate to compare them to “social workers”.

Not enough, however, to erase Salima’s shame. The young woman confides that her family knows nothing about how she earns her living.

Dangerously, she adds.

The HIV prevalence rate has plummeted in India over the past ten years, with 2.5 million people infected, or 0.2% of the population, according to UNAIDS. But it remains much higher (0.9%) among sex workers.

“We don’t like doing this work,” insists Salima.

In 2004, a collective of sex workers attempted to ban dirt collections in front of brothels in Sonagachi and demanded that women be treated with “dignity”. In vain. This year again, the custom was largely respected.