[Reader-list] Oppurtunities for Change

[PREETU NAIR]

Asmi's marriage to Raja is an indication of a new
liberation that's sweeping the women who had so far
led a life of prolonged violence and self-destructive
behaviour as commercial sex workers. Economically
rehabilitated, she is the third woman who has changed
the rules and her life, reports PREETU NAIR.


VASCO: Asmi married Raja in a low profile ceremony in
a temple in Vasco on Friday. The wedding ceremony was
performed, Raja applied sindoor on Asmi's forehead and
they took seven pheras, legitimizing their
relationship of last 4 years.

Their marriage may have been planned in heaven, but it
needed courage and self-belief for the couple to break
the shackles of tradition and say "I do" on the big
day in their life. With this ceremony, Asmi has broken
the age-old cultural taboo that prohibits a "Devdasi"
from entering the wedlock.

Asmi was dedicated to Goddess Yellama at the age of 12
and forced into prostitution as a Devadasi in Goa.
Devadasi is a religious practice, whereby parents
marry a daughter to a deity or a temple. The marriage
usually occurs before the girl reaches puberty and
requires the girl to become a prostitute. A Devadasi
is forbidden to enter into a real marriage.

The mass demolition of cubicles in Baina's unofficial
red light area on June 14, 2004, didn't change her
situation, but in fact worsened it. With no economic
rehabilitation in sight, she was forced to travel to
other parts of the state for "business".

The real opportunity to transform her life came when
she was economically rehabilitated by ARZ, an NGO
working with trafficked victims in Goa, as part of its
economic rehabilitation programme. She started working
in a fully mechanized laundry unit, "Swift Wash", at
Sancoale Industrial estate, which provides employment
to 40 trafficked victims like her, mostly from Baina.

While the employment programme made women financially
self-sufficient, marriage has given them social
acceptance. Asmi is the third woman working at Swift
Wash to tie the nuptial knot.

"I am very happy. I feel liberated and hope to inspire
other women like me. Its nice to marry the man you
love," reveals Asmi. Her act reflects a growing
confidence among the women, who were once trafficked
into the flesh trade and exploited everyday. Besides
being a moment of great emotional and personal
satisfaction, it is also a moment of realization for
other girls like her: the onus of changing their lives
is on them.

However, it wasn't easy for Asmi. Among the many tests
she went through was refusal by her "parents" to
except the relationship and Raja's initial resistance
to commit. Asmi's "parents" were aghast that their
daughter had dared to break the social tradition. "We
have realized that our love for each other is more
important than anything else. Initially, I was
reluctant to marry, but now I am happy that I married
Asmi," said Raja.

Seeing women resettled and doing well is the most
rewarding part for Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ.
"Economic rehabilitation has empowered trafficked
victims who no more want to be in a relationship that
is exploitative. They are increasingly emphasizing on
marriage, which not only has legal sanctity but also
social acceptance, which helps them in joining the
mainstream," says Pandey.

This newfound confidence and inspiration would
definitely help the survivors of the country's worst
social tradition to pick up the threads of their lives
by breaking the socio-economic compulsions.

(Name of the couple changed on request)
(An earlier version of the article appeared in GT
Weekender, Panaji edition, 24 June 2007)

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Preetu Nair 
Senior Reporter 
Gomantak Times 
St.Inez, Panaji 
Goa-403 001 
India
http://goadourada.blogspot.com/

"Freedom of mind is the real freedom"
Babasaheb Ambedkar
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