Over 200 ‘Sex Workers’ from Silchar's 'Red Light District' Excluded from Final Assam NRC

Silchar, September 18, 2019:

Over 200 ‘sex workers’, living in Silchar’s red-light area have been excluded from the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Tuhina Sharma, an advocate and a member of the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), said that during her visit to the red-light area, many of these sex workers informed that they did not apply for the NRC.

Also Read: APW Demands RTI on Assam NRC and Audit of Rs 1,600 Cr Spent

Tuhina stated that while being questioned if they were from Bangladesh, they said, “We are from this land and our parents are from here itself. We did not apply for the NRC because we cannot produce legacy data as they have been abandones by their families due to their profession.”

The ‘Chouddo Nombor Galli’ is the largest active brothel of northeast, with over 200 sex workers, almost all, victims of human trafficking.

The inmates of red-light zone of Silchar neither have voter identity cards, nor Aadhar cards.

Sharma added, “In 2017, the DLSA tried to include the sex workers in the voters list. But, the attempt went in vain as most of them did not have any personal documents.”

Moreover, she added that even if these sex workers approach the Foreigners’ Tribunal, they do not have documents to produce.

Also Read: Assam: Pregnant Woman Assault Case Becomes Matter of Human Rights

So, the DLSA member questioned the state government about the status of these sex workers in the country.

It is to be mentioned that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) authority on September 13 published the final status of the 3.3 crore people of Assam who had applied for inclusion in the updated citizens’ registry.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.

Readers like you make Inside Northeast’s work possible.

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast.