Page 12 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

CoverStory

ransgender activist Nisha Gular concerns, their problems, the daily harassment and
is today a proud sex worker, ad- discrimination they face in day-to-day life, the gov-
vocating for the human rights of ernment drafted a Bill that encourages moral polic-
many like her. Years ago, the pic- ing and victimising the sex workers, said a collectives
ture wasn’t the same as of today. of sex workers from Maharashtra.
She left home at an early age of 17 Various civil society members and other institu-
and embarked on the profession tions like National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW),
T of sex worker and begging as the All India Network of Sex Worker, hAQ Centre for
persistent shame of being a disgrace to her family for Child Rights, Lawyers Collective, National Federation
being a transgender was too much to bear. The life of Indian Women, New Trade Union, and many more
full of bullying and moral policing by the society back have come out together to unequivocally reject the
home wasn’t good enough. Though, many years later, new Bill, which doesn’t address the core issues in the
her family reunited with her. trafficking industry and does little to look for alter-
Today, Nisha fears that the new legislation would natives for trafficking victims once they are rescued.
rob her of the rights to earn and live life with dignity.
Nisha and many others like her are heavily depend- transgenders’ rights
ent on sex work and begging as a profession to make National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW), India, on
both ends meet. It is beyond doubt that the new legis- behalf of 19 others sex worker organisations, released
lation, if not improvised, will shatter the dreams and
rights of the transgenders and sex workers commu-
nities, shared Nisha her apprehensions.
Sex workers and transgenders have elicited a dis- Various civil society
quieting response to the passage of the new Traf-
ficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Re- members have come
habilitation) Bill, 2018, by the Lok Sabha on July 26,
owing to a multitude of fallacies it suffers from. Anti- out together to
trafficking activists, lawyers and civil society are also
up in arms against the Bill that does little to address unequivocally reject the
the shortcomings of the previously introduced Bill
meant to address trafficking. The stakeholders of the new anti-trafficking Bill,
anti-trafficking Bill are now banking on the Rajya
Sabha members for thorough examination and anal-
ysis before the legislation is passed. They demand which doesn’t address
that the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee.
Social scientist Meena Saraswathi Seshu while the core issues in the
talking to TeheLkA reiterated, “Now, we will go to the
Rajya Sabha members and hope that they will at least trafficking industry
push it to the standing committee because that is our
only hope.”
TeheLkA further asked Meena, “What will happen
if the Bill gets nod in the Upper house too?” To which a joint statement condemning the hasty move by Lok
Seshu replied, “Then we will have to go to the Court. Sabha.
What choice do we have otherwise?” What agitated them most was the WCD Minis-
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka ter’s remark on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that he
Gandhi’s assurance that the Bill is “victim-centric” “accompanied representatives of sex workers” not
and “the first step towards a comprehensive solu- “victims” which didn’t go well with the sex workers
tion to trafficking of persons in India” is highly debat- collectives, who criticised Gandhi in the statement.
able as the minority communities of the Bill feel that “Do we not have the right to be heard by Minis-
the real issues such as poverty, poor wage or no job, ters, Governments and Members of Parliament? Are
poor education, class and caste discrimination, poor we according to you so reprehensible that it is ok to
social-economic conditions, etc. have not even been make us the butt of your humour at the cost of dig-
mentioned in the Bill by the WCD Ministry, leave nity? Are we not citizens of India entitled to dignity?
alone considering it. Are we not women, Madam Minister?”
Moreover, instead of listening to the real ben- Akkai Padmashali, human Rights activist, was an-
eficiaries or say stakeholders of the Bill — their real gered by the fact that the government completely

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