Eighteen years after sex workers in Sonagachi — India’s largest red-light district — secured the right to vote through a landmark cooperative-led initiative, many are now fleeing the area in fear of being excluded from the electoral roll.
The confusion surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, being conducted ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, has triggered panic in Kolkata’s historic red-light hub.
Sonagachi is home to an estimated 15,000 sex workers, but in recent weeks, several have left the area, while many others are preparing to leave, fearing they may lose their voting rights due to the stringent verification process.
A Return to Anxiety and Insecurity
The Election Commission of India (ECI) launched the SIR on November 4, which will continue until December 4.
Under this process, voters must link their name — or that of a parent or family member — to the electoral roll used during the last intensive revision in 2002.
For many sex workers, particularly those estranged from families or trafficked into the profession years ago, this requirement has created anxiety and hopelessness.
There is confusion and panic. I have a voter card, but I don’t know whether my parents are on the old list,” said one sex worker who has not been in touch with her family in Murshidabad for years.
The fear of losing hard-earned citizenship documentation — and the dignity that comes with it — has set off a wave of departures from the narrow lanes of Sonagachi.
A Hard-Won Right Under Threat
Sex workers’ voting rights in Sonagachi were not granted easily.
In 1995, sex workers formed the Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. under the Durbar Mahila Samanvaya Committee (DMSC).
The cooperative empowered women financially, offering savings accounts, fair-interest loans, and promoting safe-sex supplies.
Yet the absence of residential proofs hindered their political identity. We protested, held rallies, and fought for years,” recalled Bharati Dey, DMSC mentor.
“Finally, in 2007, the Election Commission allowed sex workers to be added to the voters’ list based on cooperative bank account passbooks.”
On the day the initiative succeeded, 270 sex workers received voter cards in a public programme — a turning point that eventually enabled thousands to secure voter IDs, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards.
New Rules, Old Fears
The current SIR process has reopened old wounds, especially for women in Category B and C brothels — those with modest or low income who are visible on the streets attracting clients.
Unlike Category A workers, many of whom hold IDs from other states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, these women have nowhere else to go and no stable family connections.
Those from Bangladesh and Nepal were the first to leave,” one sex worker shared. “Others like us are confused and terrified.”
Trafficked women, survivors of abuse, and those abandoned by families are finding themselves in a bureaucratic trap.
Advocacy and Support Efforts
DMSC plans to formally request the ECI to introduce special provisions for sex workers, considering their marginalisation and unique vulnerabilities.
Peer educators are conducting counselling sessions to provide emotional support and information. We are urging women not to panic,” said Anita Das, a peer educator. “Covid already devastated their livelihoods; now this crisis has shaken them again.”
Yet the exodus continues. Meanwhile, brothel owners and touts who possess proper documents and voter cards face no such challenges, highlighting the stark inequalities within the red-light ecosystem.
We fought long and hard for our voter rights,” said another sex worker. “To lose it like this — because we cannot trace our past — feels cruel.”
A Rights Victory at Risk
What was once a celebrated moment of empowerment for exploited women now stands at risk of being undone by administrative complexities.
As Sonagachi’s residents scatter in uncertainty, activists warn that without urgent policy intervention, thousands may lose not only their homes, but also their democratic identity.
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