Collectivization in India

Akimbo's Audacia Ray emailed me to let me know about a project she's just completed and was hoping I'd share with Shakesville. (Regular readers will note that I link to Dacia's work in the blogaround all the time.) I'm sharing part of her email about the new project with permission (and there's more at Akimbo):

Back in September, my job at the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) sent me to India with my co-worker Khushbu Srivastava to do media training and documentation of our partners in the country. One of the organizations, SANGRAM, works to ensure equal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. Over 6,000 women in rural India have participated in HIV testing as a result of these efforts.

…For the last twelve years, they've worked with sex workers – women and trans people who are some of the most marginalized folks in their communities – to stand up for their rights against abusive cops, the government, and the public health system.

While I was with the amazing folks at SANGRAM, I shot more than 6 hours of video footage, took more than 400 photos, and took many many notes. This five and a half minute video is the first of several pieces of online media that we're producing in collaboration with SANGRAM to document their work and the work of the fierce sex workers they collaborate with and support in their struggle to have their rights recognized and respected. I learned so much from my time with them; I hope you enjoy the video!

There's so much in the world to regret; it's easy to forget how much there is to inspire, how powerful the possibilities of collectivization.


[Transcript below.]

Kamalabai Pani, Project Director for SANGRAM: Collectivization has made such a big difference. Before, I didn't even consider myself to be human.

Shatama Gollar, Sex Worker: Before, the police didn't respect us and would say, "Go sit outside; go sit far away."

Onscreen text, accompanied by image of marching men and women: "SANGRAM: Sex Worker Organizating in India."

Narrator: SANGRAM is in Sangli District, a rural area 235 miles southeast of Mumbai. In the state of Maharashtra, where Sangli is located, the rate of HIV infection is 4 to 5 times higher than in other Indian states. Since 1992, SANGRAM has worked to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic comprehensively, through prevention, treatment, and support. One of their projects is to support sex workers to collectivize and claim their rights.

Shashikant Mane, Executive Director of SANGRAM: Whether it's HIV/AIDS, whether it's violence, whether it's stigma and discrimination, we can't work on these issues unless people understand their rights. All of our staff, peer educators, outreach workers, and coordinators are always fundamentally talking about rights. But we talk about these concepts in such a smooth everyday language, in such a grassroots way, that it doesn't even seem like we're talking about rights.

Pani: We started to realize that it was important to learn about condoms and HIV, and it's been twelve years that we have been doing this work. With the collectivization, we started discussing the issues, how to deal with the gangs, how all of us would get together, confront them, and address the issues. As we started going to the meetings, we started becoming more aware.

Narrator: Every week, sex workers who work with SANGRAM distribute thousands of condoms to their community and provide information about HIV prevention. They also work to ensure equal access to vital primary health services.

Nilawa Shidreddy, Field Coordinator for SANGRAM: We are not proud of what we do. But it's still unfair for society to deny us medication. So we called upon all our fellow ladies from nearby places to speak to the doctor. The doctor said, "You're on your own." They sent us to a private clinic, but we didn't want to go there. The problem was in the village and so we want the government to start facilities to fight HIV here. They'll give medicine to other women with "decent" families, so why are we denied the opportunity to live? We wanted to fight against this injustice, so we went to speak to them. They wouldn't listen, but after Meena Seshu called them, they started treating us properly.

Narrator: Because of SANGRAM's success in advocating for equal access to services and information for sex workers, they were able to facilitate change for other vulnerable populations. Despite cultural barriers, SANGRAM has brought together sex workers and housewives to discuss challenges to women's health and rights.

Onscreen text: "Nearly 40% of adults living with HIV/AIDS in India are women. The largest number of new HIV infections occur among married women."

Sunita More, Women's Organizer for SANGRAM: Sex workers are seen as having a high rate of HIV; what do you think of this?

Meenkashi Kamble, Field Coordinator for SANGRAM: What we think is, since we are sex workers, the whole world looks down on us, as if HIV was present only because of us. The truth is, we do not entertain any customer if he won't use protection. We send him away. Let's say your husband steps out: There are so many other ways he might contract HIV other than us. And use of protection in the rest of the village is rare.

More: Yes, it is rare.

Kamble: So isn't it the duty of the village to check the ratio in people other than sex workers? [laughs] You can't say that there are no cases in the rest of the village. Earlier, the sex workers did not use protection since we didn't know the dangers. We worked hard to educate ourselves, and now we use protection 100% of the time. And we've started having meetings and discussions with the ladies as well as their employers. We explain to them how important their life is, and what would happen without protection. If you have 10 people and you forget to use protection just for one, there is a high risk factor of contracting HIV. This is how we have started explaining it to everyone.

Narrator: Drawing on 15 years of work in communities to strengthen and empower women against HIV/AIDS, SANGRAM is becoming an increasingly stronger policy advocate, nationally and globally. Founder Meena Seshu brings grassroots experiences to the international policy table and events like the biannual International AIDS Conference.

Meena Seshu, speaking at the conference in Mexico City, August 2008: Sex workers are the best educators of their male clients; it is true that they're able to educate men about sex and sexuality issues very effectively.

Narrator: Medical researchers and health policy shapers often reinforce the notion that sex workers are vectors of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. But through their grassroots work, SANGRAM is proving that sex workers are not agents of disease; they're agents of change.

[Credits.]