Archive · 22 Nov 2025
Sonagachi Sex Workers Fear Mass Exclusion from Voter List
Sex workers in Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, are worried they might be removed from the voter list because they can't provide old family records.
They want the government to understand their situation and help them keep their voting rights.
Sex workers in Sonagachi fear exclusion from voter list due to 2002 document requirement
Many lack family records from 2002 due to fleeing violence, poverty, or broken marriages
Organizations warn hundreds may be excluded, including children of sex workers
Sex workers receive state welfare but fear citizenship is now being questioned
Appeal seeks alternative IDs, special camps, and protection of existing voter cards
- Who
- Sex workers in Sonagachi, Kolkata
- What
- Fear mass exclusion from voter list due to Special Intensive Revision process
- When
- Currently, with the SIR process ongoing
- Where
- Sonagachi, Kolkata
- Why
- Lack of 2002 family records due to displacement, stigma, and survival
Sex Workers' Perspective
Election Commission's Perspective
Documentation
Sex Workers' Perspective
Many sex workers lack 2002 family records due to displacement and stigma
Election Commission's Perspective
Election Commission requires 2002 records for voter list revision
Welfare vs Citizenship
Sex Workers' Perspective
Sex workers receive state welfare but fear citizenship is now being questioned
Election Commission's Perspective
Election Commission's process aims to clean up voter lists and prevent fraud
- Population
- Nearly 10,000 sex workers
- Organizations involved
- Society for Human Development and Social Action, Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, Amra Padatik
- Welfare schemes received
- Lakshmir Bhandar, widow pensions
- Previous voter ID issuance
- 2007, based on Usha Cooperative records
- Fear of exclusion
- Hundreds of sex workers and their adult children