Urges Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC), an organisation that works for the emancipation and care of sex slaves in Kamathipura. Award-winning London-based photographer Hazel Thompson has shot never-before seen images from Mumbai's red light district for Cage ufffd The Horror and Hope, a BTC and Hard Rock International initiative
Urges Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC), an organisation that works for the emancipation and care of sex slaves in Kamathipura. Award-winning London-based photographer Hazel Thompson has shot never-before seen images from Mumbai's red light district for Cageu00a0-- The Horror and Hope, a BTC and Hard Rock International initiativeKamathipura stands a few kilometres away from a police chowkiu00a0-- the bustling hub of illegal flesh trade. The average age of a trafficked sex slave is 12 years and sometimes even as young as seven, it is learnt from a book, which is part of the Stop Sex Slavery (SSS) campaign kicked off by BTC. Trafficked girls are usually imprisoned for three to five years, until they have been "broken," which is how the book got its title. "We've also planned an exhibition and film as a part of this ongoing campaign," says Etienne Coutinho, director of communications, SSS.
Guddi was thrown into the jaws of Kamathipura when she was 11. She
escaped the clutches of an exploitative madam and a corrupt cop to run
back to her home in Kolkata. But impoverished conditions back home --
a leaking roof and her father being the sole earning member of the family
u00a0-- brought her right back to Kamathipura. Guddi borrowed Rs 60,000 to set
out on her own without the help of a pimp or a madam. Her creditors fined
her if she defaulted on payment, and resorted to physical violence. Guddi
has learnt how to defend herself on the mean streets. There are days when
her room is buzzing with customers, and on a bad day, Guddi turns to the
bottle for solace. She yearns to pay off her loans and return home to set up
a small shop to support her parents. "A lot of girls are brought from their
villages and their lives are destroyed. I want this to stop. Someone should
talk to the police. They should close down this market once and for all," says
Guddi. Several customers are lured inside taxis by pimps. Bar girls fill up taxis
and head towards the city's bars.BTC has rescued under-age trafficked girls from her brothel and other
children neglected under her care
During a police raid, the madams will force under-age girls on to the roof
after removing some of the tiles. Children are also hidden in concealed
rooms with trap doors
Kamathipura is run by gangstersu00a0-- violence and crime are regular occurrences
in the area, as fights and murders break out frequently14th lane at dawn break. An estimated 3,000 women live and work on 14th lane.A rescued child praying at the BTC centre; Golden Maya the wealthiest
and most powerful madam of Kamathipura.
Thompson shot 20,000 photographs over the last five months. It's the children of sex workers who suffer the most, forced into the trade against their will, as their hapless mothers watch on or hand them over to pimps and madams willingly.
Rescuing these children trafficked from various parts of India and Nepal became KK Devaraj's life mission. Devaraj set up BTC in 1990. He refers to BTC as a 24x7 ministry to aid the destitute of Kamathipura.
Shooting in KamathipuraThompson's journey with BTC began in 2002 in fact, when she was first invited by Devaraj for a BTC project.
"I remember one night, I slept at the night shelter in the centre of Kamathipura," says Thompson in Cage - The Horror and Hope,
"I was between two little girls between the ages of 2 and 3, both rescued from a future in sex slavery."
Cageu00a0-- The Horror and Hope also tells the story of three other such rescued girlsu00a0-- Guddi, Lata and Rekha.
