Many women are connected to

Anna da Costa 28/12/2014 "When I found out what he had to do, felt like I was killing me, or killing someone else," said Salva *. She concentrated on the sewing machine in front of him and began to turn the mechanical wheel. Then she heard a sound of rhythmic clicks, with the needle moving rapidly up and down, the salwar (typical Indian clothes) from a deep purple under it about to be finalized.
"Customers came and sat. When they approached and tried something with me, I was beating them. How could I know why they were there? But of course after the guys complained about poor because they spent money, bartender and then I would pay for it. picked up a lot. "
We were sitting on the floor of a room with little furniture, pale morning rays casting long shadows against peeling yellow walls. I could not help but notice the deep U-shaped scar that marked the top of his left shoulder. "You're trying to escape ever?".
"Often," he replied. "Whenever received a small tip of a client, I hid it in any small secret place he thought the kotha [brothel], but I could never run away. They beat us terribly if we tried. Many girls have died that way in GB Road."
How many of the 3500 women who live and work in most red-light district of New Delhi, the GB Road, an agent had attracted Saves to the site with the promise of a salary more than four times the best we could find in Kolkata. Only when he arrived in New Delhi that found that there would perform household chores.
It's been 15 years and, despite the fact that Sage is now free to leave the GB Road if you want it, until recently, had neither the means nor the confidence to do it. Six months ago found Kat Katha, a community of young volunteers whose mission is to empower women and children bartender of GB Road. Since then, his perspective began to change.
Sewing classes are one of many ways - by Kat Katha - women as Salva are beginning to learn new skills and create opportunities to leave the area if they wish.
"The girls begin this type of work very young, with 12 or 13 years," said the founder of Gitanjali Babbar organization of 28 years. "They are locked in these places, and even if fighting at first, after a few years many accept it as your destination. They think that there is no alternative."
The space leased by Kat Katha near GB Road, simple bartender but lovingly decorated, where we are sitting with Sage, also became a school for 16 children living in brothels, where they attend the six classes, and sometimes seven days a week.
Many women are connected to "Kat Family" - as they call themselves - through their repeated visits to brothels where not only attending classes but are also developing a number of additional programs to provide health services and education rights constitutional for women.
"We want every woman and child in this way do not live a puppet bartender of life, but have a life that they themselves have chosen," Babbar said, explaining his choice by the name "Kat Katha ', which means" The History of Puppets ".
GB (Garstin Bastion) Road is located in the heart of New Delhi, connecting old and new train stations with their long and dusty roads. bartender A parallel world is hidden in the ruins of buildings of three and four floors. Invisible to most, this world is reflected in the faces slaughtered and made-up of women who are past its prime, sitting on the edge of dark stairs calling customers. Also hints the looks of men, young and old, toward the red lips of women waving from clerestory windows. bartender
It was in early 2011, while working for the National Organization of India AIDS Control (NACO, its acronym in English), which Babbar visited the GB Road for the first time. "I knew it existed, but I never thought it was that bad," he said. "When you see human beings living in this way, begins to question everything."
The 70 brothels in the area are very tight and filthy. As we move up the dark stairs, rooms with upholstered seats spread to the left and right groups of women dressed in a variety of saris and salwars beaten, or tight Western clothes. Sometimes they are shockingly young. In the most popular kothas, as the 'number 64' - known for its beautiful girls of Nepal - men, young and old, move the various floors in almost continuous rows. Some come alone, others in noisy groups. They are often high, sometimes violent; sometimes blatant, others ashamed.
The HIV rate in the area of 8%, exceeds by 26 times the national average. The women suffer from a number of other