From sex workers to beauticians

[Guest guest]

From sex workers to beauticians

The Rediff Special/Shobha Warrier. September 02, 2005

is beautiful. So beautiful that winning a beauty pageant

should be easy. She was recently offered a role in a promotional

film by TAI (Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative), an NGO working on the

prevention of HIV/AIDS.

, 22, plays a contestant at a Miss Chennai pageant. She leads

the race until the last round, where she has to answer some

questions. Her answers, however, shock judges as well as the

audience. They don't know how to react, because speaks in a

male voice.

is beautiful. She is also a transgender, or aravani pen. And

she is a sex worker.

" That movie was a turning point in my life, " she says. " I had

absolutely no confidence in facing people until I came in contact

with TAI. I like to think of it as my tai (mother). It groomed me

and boosted my self-esteem. "

Experts working in the field of HIV/AIDS categorise in a high-

risk group. She and many like her are a risk to not only themselves

but to society. The group also includes female and male sex workers.

So far, efforts to rehabilitate them into other occupations have not

been very successful.

But TAI, and Dr Lakshmi Bai, have changed all that.

A psychologist by profession, Dr Lakshmi had long thought of new

ideas to tackle the problem. When the Voluntary Health Services was

chosen by Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative project run by the Bill-

Gates AIDS Foundation, they offered her the post of Project

Director. She accepted, and TAI was born.

Dr Lakshmi decided to try a new approach tackling the high-risk

group. " We wanted to control infection so it wouldn't reach

the 'bridge population', " she says. " TAI follows the community

driven AIDS program so groups get the feeling it is their own

programme. I decided to hold dialogues instead of giving one-sided

messages. Only by involving them in decision making could they

understand they were at risk. "

TAI supports 24 NGO partners and a few community-based organisations

in 13 districts in Tamil Nadu, implementing community driven

prevention programs among marginalised groups. These include Female

Commercial Sex Workers, Male Commercial Sex Workers and Aravani

Pengal (transgenders indulging in paid sex) -- 33,900 sex workers in

all. The project started with 63 free clinics across Tamil Nadu,

each of which also had a 'friends club' where members could meet and

discuss problems.

As these people were also low on self-esteem, TAI decided to empower

them and improve their quality of life. It initiated a 'beautician

programme'. TAI first started beauty parlours inside its clinics,

then decided to train sex workers as beauticians, videographers and

photographers. Now, they also want to be trained in catering,

housekeeping, desktop publishing, etc.

When TAI contacted her to be part of the programme, thought it

was going to be like any other organisation, and had little faith.

Now, she believes no one else could have changed her life so

dramatically. As a sex worker, she would stay home all day, only

emerging by night. No more. " Since completing the beautician's

course, I realize I have a talent that can help me earn a living. I

am now a working girl with a regular job. Society also looks at me

with respect. Earlier, I had no tomorrow to look forward to. Now, I

look forward to every day, " she says, visibly happy.

The story of 22-year-old Sona, another transgender from Coimbatore,

is similar. But, unlike , she got herself trained in

videography. " Until now, society shunned people like me because we

looked different. It is true that, even today, they don't like us

shooting at weddings or other auspicious functions. But, before TAI

came into our lives, we felt we had nobody in this world. "

There are other stories, all with happy endings.

Jessima, 20, from Madurai, mother of a two year old, was forced into

prostitution by her abusive husband. She is now a

beautician. " Though few knew I was a sex worker, I couldn't face

people. Now, I may earn less, but I am respected. I have no plans to

go back as a sex worker. This has been a rebirth for me. " Then

there's 19-year-old Karthik, who started having sex with men from

the age of 15, oblivious of the risks. He was picked up by TAI and

trained in videography. Though he is happy to have learnt something

he is interested in, he feels he needs more training. " I now have a

job, " he says. " TAI has given me a livelihood. I want extensive

training though, so I can be a true professional. "

When TAI approached Vasundhara, a well-known beautician in Chennai,

and requested her to train sex workers, she was scared at first. It

was her husband who persuaded her to help. Once she began taking

classes though, she realised how talented they were. " The desire to

learn was so high that what others took two months to learn, they

learnt in five days! " Vasundhara now feels this should have been

done a lot earlier.

" It may take a long time for them to stop what they were doing

completely, " says Dr Lakshmi, " but this is a new beginning. "

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