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Society
Sex Workers' Bank:
Healthy Returns
by Nilanjana Bhowmick
 "In
the beginning, we didn't understand what Usha Multipurpose Cooperative
Society (UMCS) was all about. Once we did, we began to use its
facilities. Because of Usha, I have been able to save some money,"
declares Maya Sharma, 45, a sex worker in Kolkata.
"Today, I am in a position to turn away a client who refuses to use a
condom. I know I can withdraw money from the bank and buy food for
myself," says Maya.
Usha (literally, sunrise/ beginning) is a cooperative bank started by
sex workers in 1995 under the aegis of the Durbar Mahila Samiti, a
Kolkata-based sex workers' collective. Over the past 11 years, UMCS -
which operates from Durbar's premises in the Sonagachi 'red light area'
of Kolkata - has emerged as a successful example of initiative and
intent.
Minu Chakraborty, 35, has been able to secure her future, thanks to UMCS.
"I took a loan of Rs 20,000 and was able to build a house away from the
red light area. My sons are studying now. The atmosphere of a red light
area is not right for them." Chakraborty has bought a house outside
Sonagachi, where she lives with her children. In Sonagachi, she uses her
'field' room to work from.
In 2000, UMCS was able to help only 40 members with loans. Today, about
2,600 members have sought and been given loans, and the number is
growing by the day. The highest loan so far - Rs 1.6 million (US$1=Rs
45) - went to a woman who wanted to open a garment factory.
Purnima Naik, a sex worker in her mid-thirties, recalls the initial days
of the bank. "I was the first public relations officer and my job was to
try and convince my colleagues to deposit their money in the bank. In
the beginning, success was minimal. Of about a hundred women we would
speak to, only two would agree. Slowly, though, they began to understand
that the bank was for their welfare."
Before the UMCS was set up, sex workers faced daily harassment from
moneylenders, local goons and the police. Moneylenders would demand as
much as Rs 10 a day as interest on a 100 rupee loan. "When we launched
health and other intervention programs, the women would say that we
should first do something to improve their lives and then talk about
interventions," recalls Durbar's Programme Director Bharati Dey. This is
how the idea for UMCS was born.
Swarojit Jana, the brain behind Durbar and UMCS, explains further: "We
have to advocate to create and better an enabling environment where
individual sex workers can enforce condom use by their clients and to do
that we have a strategy what we call the community-led structural
intervention. That means that the targeted community - that is the sex
workers - has to lead in the front. Durbar has been planning to build
its own resources in many ways and one such mechanism was the UMCS."
"We want to offer these facilities to sex workers across the state. This
is why we are opening branches in 12 other red light areas in West
Bengal, starting with Durgapur and Asansol," says Rekha Chatterjee,
President, UMCS. "To begin with, we will introduce our daily collection
scheme."
Daily collection is the most popular service offered by the bank. The
daily collectors - usually hired staff - collect whatever amount the
women want to deposit. The average collection per day is about Rs
45,000. "This is very helpful for me. Even if I can't go to the bank, I
can conduct bank transactions sitting at home," says one account holder.
"Sometimes I give Rs 5, sometimes Rs 10. Earlier, I didn't know how to
save my money. Today, I have a bank balance."
The bank has a range of thoughtful and innovative services to make the
idea work for the women. A large number of the members of UMCS are
illiterate. The bank staff patiently explain banking procedures to them.
If that does not work, they make special presentations. Sometimes, they
go to the women's homes to demonstrate how to use a bank account. Those
who cannot even sign their names can open an account with a thumb
impression.
Shantanu Chatterjee, in charge of the credit division, says that UMCS is
now looking towards increasing its working capital to Rs 160 million
over the next five years. "We would like to get into auto loans and
release funds in the corporate sector. Increased turnover will mean
increased dividends for our members. We operate according to the
stipulations of Durbar, our parent organization. For us, the welfare of
the sex workers is of primary importance."
There are also plans to invest in a petrol pump, a medicine shop and a
polyclinic. "We have already ventured into the grocery and cosmetics
business. We also want to open a beauty parlor and a polyclinic in the
Kalighat area. We shouldn't need to go outside for anything," says
Sujata Dutta, Secretary, UMCS.
For many women, the bank gives them the opportunity to live their
dreams. After decades of social ostracism and isolation, they have found
the confidence to lead a full life. Today, in Kolkata, sex workers can
look forward to a more healthy and secure life.
November 12,
2006
By arrangement with
Women's Feature Service
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Society
The Week of November 12, 2006
Ekla Chalo: Any Point Talking to President Hu?
by Rajinder Puri
Chinese President's Visit to India: Much Ado
about Nothing by Dr. Subhash Kapila
History grants Nitish Kumar an opportunity in
Bihar by Ramesh Menon
Pakistan's Military Dictator Besieged by Dr.
Subhash Kapila
Status: Nemesis of Fools, Smarts and Nations by
Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Reaping the Peace Dividend in India's North East
by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
A Panoply of Orchestrated Fraud by V.
Sundaram
Buddhism and Quantum Physics by Christian
Thomas Kohl
Are We Really Civilized? by TA Ramesh
Anger of Varunavrat by VK Joshi
Shaking up the Structure by Zofeen T Ebrahim
Wanderlust by Attreyee Roy Chowdhury
Khat e Kabuliwala: Inside an ancient temple near
Mazar-e-Sharif by Rajesh Talwar
Following the Coast by Naiya Sivaraj
Pachmarhi, Nature's Gift to Madhya Pradesh by
Anil Gulati
If You Can't Slap 'Em, Snap 'Em by Elayne Clift
Women Presidents Pack a Punch by Ambujam
Anantharaman
The Politics of Hair by Nilanjana Biswas
Murky Meat Factories by Alka Arya
Sex Workers' Bank - Healthy Returns by
Nilanjana Bhowmick
A Louder Voice by Rodrick Mukumbira
Reneging the Blue Billion by Priyadarsi Dutta
Strange are the Ways of God by Arya Bhushan
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
How to Deal With - Analytical Physiologist Disorder
by Michael Levy
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