India's prostitutes invest savings, hope in new bank

MUMBAI, India — In the heart of Mumbai's red-light district, several prostitutes sit on plastic chairs in a narrow room waiting to do something many have never been able to do before: Deposit their savings in a bank.

The small bank is the initiative of the women and aims to help them break the vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation that keeps them indebted to brothel owners.

The simple act of squirreling away some money was previously out of reach for many customers of the Sangini Women's Cooperative Bank. Prostitutes often are shunned by regular banks or lack residence documents or birth certificates officially required to open an account in India.

Now, for the past three months, they have been able to enter the bank daily to deposit an average of 10 to 20 rupees (25 to 50 cents) and dream of things they will do as their savings grow.

"We may not have house papers, but we also dream," said Indra Jai, 40, who was lured from a southern village 20 years ago with promises of a job in Mumbai, also known as Bombay, and then forced into prostitution. "We should get respect; our money is also good."

Jai said she dreams of buying a small house and a tailor shop in her rural village and paying for her a college education for her son.

The government estimates that India has 3 million prostitutes, many of whom start as children lured by traffickers. Others are teenagers sold by poor family members to brothel owners.

They spend up to five years working for free in dingy, airless rooms to repay the brothel owner's investment. To survive, they often turn to moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates and end up driving themselves further into debt and dependance.

Thoughts of breaking the cycle drive the bank's more than 900 customers.

"If we fall ill who will look after us? We must save when we are still earning," said Jai, a founding member of the bank.

The bank — three narrow rooms that also house a cooperative store — is filled with women, some lining up in front of a teller, others shopping for soap, food, grains and condoms.

Mumbai's prostitutes began a women's cooperative group two years ago with support from PSI, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. The bank and store were launched with $40,000 from PSI.

"We thought it would take a year to get 100 customers, but we opened more than 100 accounts on day one," said Shilpa Merchant, PSI's Mumbai director.

Guided by PSI, the bank invests daily deposits totaling 25,000 rupees ($625) in fixed savings schemes with state-run banks earning 9.5 percent interest per year.

The women say entering the bank every day helps them hold onto their dreams.

"Sometimes I think my life is a waste," said Gulabja Sheikh, 35, who was sold at 15 by her parents. "But now I have my house to work for."