Sonagachi — The unseen streets of Kolkata & the Hidden facts
Kolkata is a city in which lives Forbes list worth multi-billionaire people and there is also another side of the city in which girls auction their dignity at rupees 150 only. Not for the sake of pleasure but for the sake of poverty Yes we are talking of Asia’s largest red light area — SONAGACHI.
According to Shahid Ludhanvi” yeh duniya dorangi hai ek taraf se Resham orhe ek taraf se nangi hai ek taraf andi hai daulat ki pagal Ayash barasti ek taraf jismo ki keemat roti seh bhi sasti hai ek taraf hai Sonagachi ek taraf chaurangi hai yeh duniya dorangi hai “ this lines defines Sonagachi because this is the truth that lies behind each gully of Sonagachi. A book was written in the year 1880 by an unknown person. The name of the book was Baishya Leela the book is about Kolkata’s red light area Sonagachi. The business of girls and sex workers started almost 150 years ago since then, the attraction and the amount of workers in Sonagachi gradually increased, and in 2023 Sonagachi is Asia’s largest red light area.
In the red light area of Kolkata, almost 14, 000 workers work every day to earn their livelihood, and in almost every building of Sonagachi, several stories of child trafficking, and sexual abuse remain hidden within walls of the buildings, and the most astonishing news according to certain resources and facts is Almost 12, 000 sex workers working here in Sonagachi are below 18 years of age in Kolkata.
Prostitution is considered legal in many countries but in India or West Bengal, this occupation is not considered illegal. However, in the gullies of Sonagachi, everything is legitimate because, inside the gullies of the red light area, it is believed that sex work is legal. Years ago, today’s Sonagachi or the red light area of Kolkata used to be an amusement place in which only dance and entertainment used to take place, but nowadays these things have changed into prostitution where women of different ages ranging from 8 to 80 put on makeup and hide their misery behind the thick layer of foundation to get some food in their bellies with the help of their bodies. It’s often said that when you walk through the gullies of the red light area you will feel that this is a society of ladies in which there is no existence of man. Males only come here to satisfy their needs in turn off money. It is also said that no outside person is allowed inside the gullies of Sonagachi not even media and photographers without special permission. The girls or women here are kept apart from education and rights.