December 31, 2021
By Mariya Rajan

Shama (name changed) and her underage daughter are brought from West Bengal state to Mumbai city by human traffickers with the promise of a job. Soon they find themselves in separate brothels. Their stories reflect what many of the more than 1,600 girls and women in Mumbai?s Kamatipura area, one of India?s biggest red-light districts, go through as their bodies are sold by brothel owners and pimps for 350 rupees per hour. Anti-trafficking activist Anson Thomas, who has rescued at least 800 minor girls from brothels, describes the extent of agony sex workers suffer.