AHMEDABAD: Sapna (name changed), 19, dropped out of school three years ago when her father died. Her younger brother and illiterate mother were in no position to put food on the table. When a neighbourhood brothel offered her Rs 1,000 a day, she could not refuse.
Three years into prostitution, Sapna has rediscovered her desire to study. A desire that will be fulfilled by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), which has launched its bachelor preparatory programme (BPP) for sex workers. Sapna is part of 20 teenage sex works from Ahmedabad and Wadia village who have signed up for the courses in the last two days as part of an enrolment drive. Ahmedabad is only the second city after Kolkata to have the initiative.
"My brother is growing up and may soon resent my profession," Sapna says. "When I got into sex work, I was desperate. But there is still a girl in me who wants to study."
There are about 30,000 sex workers in Gujarat and 4,000-odd in Ahmedabad. IGNOU director of the regional centre in Ahmedabad Dr S K Ghosh says, "The number of sex workers signing up for the course is expected to rise as we are holding meetings with voluntary agencies working with them."
Initially, IGNOU will offer BPP and diploma in food and nutrition to the sex workers. "Our inspiration for this initiative came from our successful experience in state prisons where 10,000 inmates completed or are undergoing courses ranging from BPP to PG courses and diplomas," Ghosh adds.
In a first, IGNOU has prepared the course material in Gujarati for BPP and some diploma courses to increase its reach. Bhumi Dave, who has researched Gujarat's sex workers as part of her doctoral thesis says most sex workers have basic education. "Some 52% have secondary and higher secondary education. A degree can give them alternatives and self belief," she says.
Three years into prostitution, Sapna has rediscovered her desire to study. A desire that will be fulfilled by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), which has launched its bachelor preparatory programme (BPP) for sex workers. Sapna is part of 20 teenage sex works from Ahmedabad and Wadia village who have signed up for the courses in the last two days as part of an enrolment drive. Ahmedabad is only the second city after Kolkata to have the initiative."My brother is growing up and may soon resent my profession," Sapna says. "When I got into sex work, I was desperate. But there is still a girl in me who wants to study."
There are about 30,000 sex workers in Gujarat and 4,000-odd in Ahmedabad. IGNOU director of the regional centre in Ahmedabad Dr S K Ghosh says, "The number of sex workers signing up for the course is expected to rise as we are holding meetings with voluntary agencies working with them."
Initially, IGNOU will offer BPP and diploma in food and nutrition to the sex workers. "Our inspiration for this initiative came from our successful experience in state prisons where 10,000 inmates completed or are undergoing courses ranging from BPP to PG courses and diplomas," Ghosh adds.
In a first, IGNOU has prepared the course material in Gujarati for BPP and some diploma courses to increase its reach. Bhumi Dave, who has researched Gujarat's sex workers as part of her doctoral thesis says most sex workers have basic education. "Some 52% have secondary and higher secondary education. A degree can give them alternatives and self belief," she says.
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