A Visit to G.B.Road

Prerana has been working on the protection of the rights of the women and children living in the red-light areas (RLA) of Falkland Rd. and Kamathipura for the last three decades. Kamathipura held the long-standing title of the largest red-light area in Asia, but as the years have passed that has changed. Prerana started its first Night Care Center (NCC) – an innovative night creche for children in the Kamathipura red-light area in 1988, subsequently starting it’s Falkland Rd. NCC in 1999 and it’s Vashi-Turbhe NCC in 2001. The subsequent NCCs began due to the need expressed by the prostituted women and the model’s success and recognition globally.
I joined Prerana in 2018 and have since been working as a part of the organization’s Anti-Trafficking Center’s team. For the last 2 years, I have been closely working with Prerana’s Night Care Center team and have had the opportunity of documenting its ‘Red-Light Area Mapping’. I have also had a chance to learn and understand the dynamics of both the red-light area and the trade through my work with Prerana. The composition of the RLAs across the country differs based on the location, culture and adjoining areas. While I have access to the Kamathipura, Falkland Rd. and Vashi-Turbhe red-light areas which enables a fair and in-depth understanding of the RLAs in Mumbai, the same cannot be said about my understanding of the RLAs in other parts of the Country.
In July 2019, my colleague and I visited Delhi. We visited a number of organizations to understand the State and the organizations child protection systems, innovative community interventions for street children, as well as understand the trends with regards to commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. While in Delhi we visited Garstin Bastion Road (G.B.Road) and interact with Ms. Lalitha S.A, the founder of SPID-SMS. Click here to read our interview with her.
Through this visit, I was able to gather valuable information and an understanding of G.B.Road. This blog is an attempt at sharing the my findings and thoughts as well as noting the similarities and differences seen in the RLAs of Mumbai (primarily Kamathipura and Falkland Rd) and G.B.Road Delhi. The document has been divided into four parts to share about the ‘History’, ‘Area’, ‘Brothels’ and ‘Functioning of the Sex Trade’ in the red-light areas.

Please note:
The document has been written by Ms. Flarantxa Pereira based on her individual reflections and understanding of the Kamathipura, Falkland Road and G.B.Road red-light areas and is not a comprehensive description of the areas.
While the team (including Ms. Flarantxa Pereira and Ms. Deepali Mistry visited the G.B.Road area, they weren’t able to visit the brothels. The information collected was shared by the SPID-SMS team and Ms. Lalitha S.A.

HISTORY

Kamathipura & Falkland Rd.: British authorities in India were under pressure to provide pleasure girls to their sailors and soldiers at all the port cities. With Bombay’s rise to prominence as a commercial seaport during the British Raj, the city also became a key destination in the transnational sex trade circuit. A few red-light areas were created and sought to be legally regulated by passing laws and government orders. Simultaneously while European women were brought to entertain the white sailors and soldiers many Indian women were trafficked from within India. The classic example is that of supply of girls from the infamous Devadasi belt from some of the Southern states of India like today’s Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh etc.
By the 20^th century, Bombay played host to the largest number of European prostitutes of all Indian cities. The area ‘Kamathipura’ owed its name to the Kamathis – artisans and construction workers who had migrated from Hyderabad. In the 1860s, Arthur Crawford, the 1^st Municipal Commissioner directed the municipal sweepers to live in Kamathipura.[1] Between the 1880s and 1920s, Kamathipura took shape as the red-light zone in the city.[2]

G.B.Road:  In North India, especially in the landlocked seat of Mughal power i.e. Delhi which was at the time a large scale army base for Mughal rulers, which subsequently became cantonments of the British led to the proliferation of prostitution areas and shadow entertainment joints, G.B. Rd being one of them. G.B.Rd can be dated back to the Mughal era, wherein Delhi had five RLAs. During the British Rule, these five RLAs were done away with and G.B.Road was established as a single RLA. It continues to be the largest RLA in the city.
In 1966, Garstin Bastion Road was officially renamed to Swami Shradhanand Marg. Although the name had been changed 53 years ago, it continues to be referred to as G.B.Road, a road (and name) that has always been synonyms with the sex trade. G.B.Road.

AREA

Kamathipura & Falkland Rd.
Kamathipura is divided into 14 lanes (approx. 39 acres) and is situated between Grant Road and Mumbai Central while Falkland Rd. is a single street with brothels lined on either side of the street. Both Kamathipura and Falkland Rd. currently, house both brothels and residential houses.
A total of 447 brothels currently function out of the Kamathipura[3] RLA and 382 brothels function out of Falkland Rd.[4] These numbers are dynamic in nature and continue to change regularly based on the frequency of raids conducted, closure of brothels by the police under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (1956) (ITPA), selling of land and cost of the rent. 

Brothels: As per the ITPA Section 2a “brothel” includes any house, room, [conveyance] or place or any portion of any house, room, [conveyance] or place, which is used for purposes [of sexual exploitation or abuse] for the gain of another person or for the mutual gain of two or more prostitutes;

Both Kamathipura and Falkland Rd. being located in South Mumbai are prime property and in the last few years, there have been considerable changes in the area with land sharks taking over the property and demolishing the structures.[5] Aside from this, the skyrocketing prices of rent have also contributed to the women leaving the RLA and moving to cheaper localities. It has also been seen that the perpetrators of the sex trade are also moving out of the RLA and in the process moving the women who live in these RLAs as well.

G.B. Road
G.B. Road is a single street running from Ajmeri Gate to Lahori Gate, in Delhi with 82 functional brothels (commonly referred to as kothas). As per Ms. Lalitha S.A., there has been no change in the number of brothels in the area in the last 10 years, though it is important to note that there hasn’t been an increase in the number of brothels or the number of new women being shifted/moved to the area. This could be due to the shift from traditional RLAs to various other open communities. G.B.Road is a well-known market for machinery automobile parts, hardware, and tools, which also happens to be the largest market for the same. G.B.Road is 2.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station. During the day, G.B.Road is bustling and a busy market, at night the area turns into a hub for the sex trade. The buildings which house the brothels at G.B.Road are addressed by numbers often referred to as kotha no.62 and so forth.

BROTHELS

Kamathipura & Falkland Rd.
The 14 lanes of Kamathipura have both residential homes and brothels. While Kamathipura is commonly known as a red-light area, over the years the demography of this area has changed. While the red – light area continues to have 447 functional brothels (as on March 2019) is concentrated into nine  of the 14 lanes. Of these nine lanes, four  also have residential spaces used by families, while five lanes are occupied by brothels.
The following are the observations of the brothels in Kamathipura:

• Each brothel would have an average of 4 to 5 beds, divided by curtains, some are also divided into 6×4 rooms.
• Kamathipura features 3 types of brothels – 1. Beds divided by curtains, 2. Beds divided using plywood and a door which has also been made of plywood sheets (giving the women a sense that they have a space of their own), and 3. Brothels divided into a floor and an attic-like area one has to crawl into.
• Up until 10 years ago, there were wall cavities that were used to hide minor girls in case the brothel keeper was informed of a police raid or the likelihood of one.
• The women are allowed to use the space below the beds to store their personal belongings, previously this space would be used to put the children to sleep during the night hours while the women are with the customers on the bed.
• In Kamathipura some (as of 2019 there are only four[6] bungalow system brothels in the Kamathipura area) brothels are referred to as ‘bungalow system’ brothels, which are similar to caged brothels. If women are residing in these brothels, they are rarely allowed to leave and if they do leave the brothel it would be under the supervision of and often accompanied by a bouncer or an individual trusted by the brothel keeper.

While the structure of the brothels may have slight similarities, there are a few differences. The following are the observations of the brothels in Falkland Rd.:

• Each brothel houses an average of 15 women in a compact space of approximately 12’x7’ or 80 Sq. Ft area.
• Each brothel has an average of two to four 4’x6’ beds. These beds are what the women have to use with the customer and as their ‘home’ for both them and their children. The beds are separated by just a thin tattered sheet of linen.
• Pinjra’s (caged brothels) are a prominent feature of the Falkland Rd. RLA. Often people assume and have the misconception that these caged brothels are actual cages similar to the cage’s animals are kept in at Zoos. They are referred to as ‘caged brothels’ due to the nature of captivity i.e. once in the woman is not allowed to step out, and is locked in. These pinjra’s can be distinguished from the other brothels as one will see the madam/brothel keeper/bouncer sitting at the entrance while the girls are locked inside. Women residing in these pinjra’s aren’t allowed out of the brothel and social workers/NGO workers aren’t allowed access either.

G.B.Road
The street is lined with two to three-story buildings with shops located on the ground floor and brothels from the first floor upwards. The entrance into the building is a single narrow staircase that leads to all two/three floors. If you stand at the entrance to the staircase one would see women sitting on either side on all 3 floors. Each building houses anywhere between 3 to 6 brothels based on the number of floors in the building. For example, the 1^st floor will have 2 brothels, managed by 2 different brothel keepers. As per our discussion with the outreach workers at the SMS center, the first floor mainly houses older women i.e. aged 30+, the higher floors house younger women. As per Lalitha, while 20 years ago one would find minors in the red-light area, the same cannot be said for today – “While minors continue to be trafficked, they are first groomed in the outskirts of Delhi. Once they attain adulthood they are then re-sold onto G.B.Road.”
Each brothel generally has anywhere between 4 to 20 women living based on the size of the brothel. As one enters the brothel, they would be seated in a living room-like area, where the women are also made to sit and are presented to the men. Each brothel also has an in-house bar, as customers sometimes want to purchase beverages or snacks, this bar is a part of the living room area. The brothel keeper also has his/her room which is generally kept locked and has documents of the women stored inside. The rooms used by the women are 4ft by 6ft spaces divided by wooden panels or curtains. Unlike the Kamathipura/ Falkland Rd. areas these beds/spaces have no storage space for the women to store their belongings, the women mostly live out of their suitcases.

FUNCTIONING OF THE SEX TRADE

Kamathipura & Falkland Rd.
When walking through Kamathipura and Falkland Rd. during the evening hours, one would see a number of women lining the streets and soliciting. One would also see a few women soliciting through the day, many of them would be older women.
Women residing in the ‘caged brothel’ systems aren’t allowed to leave. The pimp would do the soliciting for these women while the brothel keeper, who sits at the entrance to this caged brothel would assign the girl to the customer.
Women earn anywhere between Rs. 100 to Rs. 500 per customer. They are paid for the act and the time spent. The older the woman, the lesser the customer would pay, the rate can sometimes be as low as Rs. 50. The following are additional observations noted about the RLA:

• The brothels aren’t owned by the brothel keepers, most of the properties in Kamathipura and Falkland Rd. have anonymous owners.
• Both the RLAs have a number of rooms/buildings used as residential spaces as well.
• The women have to pay a daily rent cost for a bed in the brothels, the average price of the same would be Rs. 600/-. Aside from this, they also have to give a certain amount of their earnings per customer to the brothel keeper.
• Women in the caged brothels are generally those who are trafficked into the RLA for the first time and have shown resistance, the price at which they are bought is very high and the brothel keeper has still not received the amount she had spent nor made sufficient profits out of the women. The time period for which they stay in the caged brothel varies based on how long the women take to eventually accepting their life in the sex trade and submitting to the exploitation.

• Women live in the brothels along with their children and sometimes their aadmi. Some women also rent out a separate room along with their aadmi or pimp in the area for themselves and their children while they use the brothels when with a customer.
• Rooms used as brothels are now being made to look like homes. The women claim to pay rent and are tenants in these spaces.
• There has been a definitive change in the nature of monetary transactions, earlier a customer would directly pay the pimp or the brothel keeper prior to receiving access to the woman. This has changed due to an increase in raids and rescues and the use of decoy customers transacting with marked notes by the Police. Presently, women collect the money themselves, which the brothel-keeper or pimp keeping a close watch.

Aadmi: A regular customer of a prostituted woman who acts like her husband and hence has free sex with her while controlling her finances. Some Aadmi’s also arrange for the customers and thus functions as their pimps. It is important to note that not all Aadmi’s are pimps and not all pimps are Aadmi’s.

• Dalal’s/pimps also solicit for women in the Falkland Rd. and Kamathipura areas. There has also been an increase in the use of mobile phones with regard to soliciting clients and clients contacting women[7 & 8].
• 22 NGOs (as of 2019)[9 & 10] present in these areas offering a number of services like provide Night Care/ Day Care/ Vocational Training services, health, recreation, etc. in both the RLAs.

G.B.Road
As the women are rarely allowed to venture below the 1^st floor of the brothels onto the main road, the pimps/ Dalal’s solicit for them. A number of personal accounts online detail the experiences of men who have encountered these pimps. When walking on G.B.Road, even in the afternoon you would see women standing and soliciting from the windows on the 1^st floor onwards. On the barely-there divider, men line up bargaining the price.
An average price range anywhere between Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 but this is based on the age of the women and the time spent with the customer. Of the amount earned, Rs. 20 would go to the brothel manager, Rs. 150 to the woman (though this amount is kept in the hands of the brothel keeper) the remaining amount is given to the brothel keeper. Some customers also tip the women and this amount generally stays with the women unless the brothel keeper finds out. Generally, the brothel keeper chooses the woman that will go along with the customer, if the customer has a specific request, they would be asked to pay a bigger amount. The following are additional observation to be noted about the RLA:

• Women living in the brothel don’t have to pay daily rent when living in the brothels, the ‘rent’ is taken from the amount they make per customer.
• The women are given their meals in the brothel itself, which is generally lunch, dinner, and tea. Each brothel has a ‘caretaker’ who is generally a man who cleans and cooks in the brothel. The women are to pay a certain amount monthly to avail of these services.
• Much like Kamathipura and Falkland Rd., the busy hours for the women begin at 5 pm and continue till midnight which is the unofficial closing time of the brothels. If a customer would like to spend the night with a woman (i.e. from 12 am to 6 am) they would be required to pay a bigger amount, sometimes double or triple the base amount.
• Similar to Kamathipura and Falkland Rd., the brothels on G.B. Rd are not owned by the brothel keeper. The property owners are unknown and may or may not have been directly associated in running the sex trade[11]. As per the team at the SMS center, the brothels would be taken on a long-term/ one time rent by the brothel keeper who would pay a few Lakhs for the space/room.
• The women generally don’t keep their children with them in the brothels, they either send them to their families, enroll them into ‘boarding schools’ or keep them at the SPID-SMS center. SPID-SMS and other NGOs working in the area also assist the mother with enrolling their children into Children’s Home with an order from the Child Welfare Committee.
• The SPID-SMS center is currently the only NGO working on G.B. Rd. that is providing children we 24×7 care services.
• The brothel manager is the individual who ‘owns’ the property and takes a cut from the women’s earnings. The brothel keeper is the person who is present at the brothel, interacts with the customers and takes the fee from the customer. (Note: In the Kamathipura and Falkland Rd. areas, the brothel manager typically works under the brothel keeper. The brothel manager would usually be a trusted woman from the brothel itself. This was seen in the areas 10 years ago but has changed over time.)

[11] ITPA Section 3(2) – paraphrased: If any tenant/lessee/occupier/person in charge or the owner/lessor/landlord and their agent uses, or knowingly allows anyone to use, or is willfully a party to the use of any premise or its part thereof as a brothel, such person shall be punishable with imprisonment and fine.