Got voting rights two decades back, why sex workers at India’s largest red light area are leaving amid SIR panic

The SIR by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to verify and update the electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections began in West Bengal on November 4 and will continue until December 4. Voters must trace their name, or that of a parent or relative, to the electoral roll from the last intensive revision conducted in West Bengal in 2002.

A sex worker said, “There is confusion and panic. I have a voter card. However, I’m unsure whether my parents are on the SIR list. They live in Murshidabad, and for years, we have not been in touch. There are so many like me here. Some have left for their villages.”

“I plan to return to my village in a day or two. But you know it’s not easy. I am not sure how the villagers and my parents will treat me. I don’t know what will happen if I can’t get my papers,” she added.

The Durbar Mahila Samanvaya Committee (DMSC), which was instrumental in the voting rights movement, plans to request special provisions for sex workers from the ECI due to their marginalised status.

The history of voter cards in Sonagachi

On June 21, 1995, sex workers in Sonagachi formed their own cooperative, Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited under DMSC. The cooperative initiated social marketing of condoms and sanitary napkins in the red-light areas, offered savings accounts to the workers, and provided them with loans at low interest rates.

“It was done to financially empower the sex workers whom brothel owners and money lenders frequently cheated. Then our struggle for voting rights started. Thousands of sex workers in Sonagachi never had voter cards. This was because they had no proper documents, including residential proofs, in Sonagachi,” Bharati Dey, mentor of DMSC, told The Indian Express inside her office in Sonagachi, where a section of sex workers had made a beeline for clarity on the SIR issue.

On June 21, 1995, sex workers in Sonagachi formed their own cooperative, Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited under DMSC. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

“We took out rallies and protest dharnas in Kolkata. Finally, in 2007, the  Election Commission agreed to put names in the electoral list and give voter cards based on the account details of the cooperative bank,” said Dey.

“In 2007, Election Commission officials visited Sonagachi and the cooperative bank, checked the account details. That day, 270 sex workers got their voter cards through a programme in a nearby park. The passbook of the cooperative is the basis on which they all got voter cards,” said Santanu Chatterjee, manager and chief executive of Usha.

“Then slowly, thousands of women, not only in Sonagachi but also in other red-light areas of the state, received their voter identity cards. Later, they obtained their Aadhaar cards and PAN cards,” added Chatterjee.

SIR triggers panic

As soon as the SIR was initiated, panic spread through the lanes and bylanes of Sonagachi. One by one, residents began to leave their homes in large numbers.

According to DMSC, the worst affected are women in categories B and C. Category A includes upscale brothels with highly paid women who do not actively seek customers. Category B consists of women who earn a medium pay and are often seen standing near their respective brothels. Category C includes low-paid women who stand on the streets outside the red-light area, trying to attract customers.

“The category A women, who primarily come from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and other states, possess voter cards from their respective states. However, for categories B and C, many of whom are from Bengal, the situation is concerning,” said a sex worker, adding that women from Bangladesh and Nepal were the first ones to leave the area after the SIR.

“It was a hard-earned right after years of struggle. However, there is now widespread panic. Since the process of voter cards for sex workers started in 2007 in Sonagachi, many do not have their names in the SIR list. Many have been initially trafficked, duped, or even sold into this profession. It is difficult for them to track their families back. Some of them are leaving the area in fear,” said Dey.

“Also, there are girls whose families live in other districts. They are now desperately trying to reunite with them to obtain the necessary documents. Due to the stigma surrounding their situation, many families in the districts have lost touch with these girls,” said Dey, adding that DMSC will shortly write to the ECI requesting special provisions for sex workers.

Counselling for sex workers

DMSC’s peer educators, meanwhile, are attempting to speak with the women.  “We are counselling them, urging them not to panic. The Covid years had already hit them hard, and now this,” said Anita Das, a peer educator.

“We are asking them to be patient. We are providing mental support to them. Meanwhile, we are informing them that DMSC is actively seeking ways to assist them,” said Maya Sarkar, another peer educator.

Sources stated that a section of sex workers in Sonagachi hail from countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and live in brothels.

The touts in the area are reportedly from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh and hold voter identification cards from those states.

“Brothel owners don’t face any issues. They own houses or apartments here and have all the necessary documents. The touts, who mainly come from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, also possess their voter cards from their respective states. Sex workers, like us, are the ones in trouble,” said a woman.