117.227.14.194: Corrected.

2021-08-24T08:33:02Z

Corrected.

New page

{{EngvarB|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement 
| name = Sonagachi
| native_name =
| native_name_lang. =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Neighbourhood in [[Kolkata]] (Calcutta)
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Kolkata
| pushpin_label_position = K
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kolkata
| coordinates = {{coord|22|35|15|N|88|21|35|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[West Bengal]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[City]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Kolkata]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder = [[East India Company]]
| named_for = বেশ্যালয়
| government_type =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 11
| footnotes =
| official_name =
| Booking =
| For Booking = +09144173174,+917063355213
| Charges = 150 Ruppes - 50000 Ruppes
}}

[[File:Sonagachi jon gresham 1.jpg|thumb|A scene in ,, 2005]]

'''Sonagachi''' is a red-light neighbourhood in [[Kolkata]], [[India]], located in North Kolkata near the intersection of Jatindra Mohan Avenue (north of [[Chittaranjan Avenue|C.R. Avenue]]) with Beadon Street and [[Shobhabazar|Sovabazar]], about one kilometer north of the [[Marble Palace (Kolkata)|Marble Palace]] area.

Sonagachi is the largest [[red-light district]] in [[Asia]] with several hundred multi-storey [[brothel]]s and an estimated 7,000 sex workers (2020) contained within the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/as-songachi-changes-colours-visitors-drawn-by-art-not-lust/articleshow/64811133.cms|title=As Songachi changes colours, visitors drawn by art, not lust}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/beyond-brothels-how-real-estate-pressures-and-online-sites-offering-sex-are-changing-red-light-areas/story-rYIPA8CF4M8Hp1tdzbuV0H.html|title=Beyond brothels: How real estate and online sites are changing red light areas|date=2017-04-29}}</ref><ref name="sona2020">{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/covid-times-online-sex-replaces-sonagachhi-bustle/articleshow/76667277.cms|title=Covid times: Online sex replaces Kolkata's Sonagachhi bustle}}</ref><ref name=mint2012>{{cite news |title=The new rhythms of jamshedpur: As the city's sex workers collective turns 20...|url=http://www.livemint.com/2012/02/24202846/The-new-rhythms-of-Sonagachi.html |publisher=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |date=24 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712053739/http://www.livemint.com/2012/02/24202846/The-new-rhythms-of-Sonagachi.html|archive-date=12 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4055143.stm Girl-trafficking hampers Aids fight] BBC news. 30 November 2004</ref>

==Etymology==
In [[Bengali language|Bengali]], ''Sona Gachi'' means 'Tree of Gold'. According to legend, during the early days of Calcutta the area was the den of a notorious [[dacoit]] by the name of Sanaullah, who lived here with his mother. On his death, the grieving woman is said to have heard a voice coming from their hut, saying, “Mother, don’t cry. I have become a [[Gazi]]”, and so the legend of Sona Gazi started. The mother built a [[mosque]] in memory of her son, although it fell into disrepair. The Sona Gazi was converted into Sonagachi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/a-saint-and-sin-how-sonagachi-got-its-name-5110138/|title=A Saint and Sin: How Sonagachi got its name|access-date=March 5, 2019}}</ref>

==Red-light district==
===Current situation===
Several [[NGO]]s and government organizations operate in Sonagachi for the prevention of [[sexually transmitted diseases]] (STD) including [[AIDS]]. The book ''Guilty Without Trial'' by the founders of the NGO [[Sanlaap]] based much of their research into [[human trafficking in India]] on this area.

[[File:Sonagachi jon gresham 2.jpg|thumb|right|Sonagachi in 2005]]
The Sonagachi project is a sex workers' cooperative that operates in the area and empowers sex workers to insist on [[condom]] use and to stand up against abuse. Run by the [[Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee]], it was founded by public health scientist Smarajit Jana in 1992 but is now largely run by the prostitutes themselves. While some are crediting the DMSC with keeping a relatively low rate of HIV infection among prostitutes, around 5.17% of the 13,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi are estimated to be HIV positive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-sonagachi-keeping-hiv-away-a-daily-battl/550109/ |title=In Sonagachi, keeping HIV away a daily battle |publisher=Indian Express |date=2009-12-02 |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> This rate is close to the average HIV rate for female prostitutes in India, which is estimated to be 5.1%, though the HIV infection rate among prostitutes as well as among the general population varies widely by region in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avert.org/india-hiv-aids-statistics.htm |title=India HIV & AIDS Statistics |publisher=Avert.org |date= 2015-07-21|access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> According to some sources, prostitutes from Sonagachi who test HIV positive are not told about the results, and live with the disease without knowing about it "because the DMSC is worried that HIV positive women will be ostracized."<ref name="tomvater1">{{cite web|url=http://www.tomvater.com/india/welcome-to-sonagachi-%E2%80%93-calcutta%E2%80%99s-largest-brothel-area-is-thriving/ |title=Welcome to Sonagachi – Calcutta's largest brothel area is thriving |publisher=Tom Vater |date=2004-05-12 |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> Some prostitutes in Sonagachi have stated that "the clients, at least three quarters of them" refuse to use condoms and "if we force them to use the condom, they will just go next door. There are so many women working here, and in the end, everyone is prepared to work without protection for fear of losing trade.”<ref name="tomvater1"/>

Besides the Sonagachi project, the DMSC also runs several similar projects in [[West Bengal]], organizing some 65,000 prostitutes and their children. The organization lobbies for the recognition of sex workers' rights and full legalization, runs literacy and vocational programs, and provides [[microcredit|micro loans]].<ref>[http://www.durbar.org/ durbar.org], home page of the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee
</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=DEAD ZONES: Fighting Back in India.; Calcutta's Prostitutes Lead the Fight on AIDS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/04/world/dead-zones-fighting-back-in-india-calcutta-s-prostitutes-lead-the-fight-on-aids.html |work=New York Times |date=4 January 1999 }}</ref> The DMSC hosted India's first national convention of sex workers on 14 November 1997 in Kolkata, titled 'Sex Work is Real Work: We Demand Workers Rights'.<ref>[http://www.nswp.org/rights/dmsc/indiaconf.html Sex work is real work: We demand workers rights], announcement of the 1997 sex worker convention {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212230342/http://www.nswp.org/rights/dmsc/indiaconf.html |date=12 December 2006 }}</ref> The book ''[[Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide]]'' reports investigations revealing that, contrary to stated policy, the DMSC allows sex slavery, trafficking, and underage girls in Sonagachi project brothels.<ref>Kristof, Nicholas D.; Sheryl WuDunn. 2009. [[Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide]]</ref>

==Popular culture==
[[File:Sonagachi jon gresham 3.jpg|thumb|right|Sonagachi, 2005]]
The documentary ''[[Born into Brothels|Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids]]'' won the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature|best documentary award]] in [[77th Academy Awards|2005]]. It depicts the lives of children born to prostitutes in Sonagachi. ''Born into Brothels'' takes the viewer beyond the well-known prostitute-clogged streets and into the homes of the children who live in the so-called worst place on earth. If the film has one success story, it is the discovery of ten-year-old Avijit whose natural affinity for creating exciting compositions through the lens earned him an invitation to the [[World Press Photo]] Foundation in [[Amsterdam]].

[[Sahir Ludhianvi|Sahir Ludhianavi]] wrote

''Ye duniya do rangi hai''

''Ek taraf se resham ode, ek taraf se nangi hai''

''Ek taraf andhi daulat ki paagal aish parasti''

''Ek taraf jismoñ ki qeemat roti se bhi sasti''

''Ek taraf hai Sonaagaachi, ek taraf Chaurangi hai''

''Ye duniya do rangi hai''

'''Meaning:'''

This world is double-faced

One side covered with silk, the other naked

On the one hand, the hedonism of blind wealth

On the other, bodies sold cheaper than bread

On the one hand lies Sonagachi, on the other [[Chowringhee]]

This world is double-faced

There is also a documentary titled ''Tales of The Night Fairies'' by Prof. Shohini Ghosh and Dr. Sabeena Ghadioke from Asia's leading Media institute [[AJK, Mass Communication Research Centre]], about the Sonagachi area. It has won the Jeevika Award for the best documentary feature on livelihood in India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ajkmcrc.org/faculty/shohini%20_gosh.asp |title=Welcome to AJK Mass Communication Research Centre |publisher=Ajkmcrc.org |access-date=2012-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304083532/http://ajkmcrc.org/faculty/shohini%20_gosh.asp |archive-date=4 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Popular actor [[Kamal Haasan]]'s movie ''[[Mahanadi (film)|Mahanadhi]]'' has a storyline based on the area. The Malayalam Film [[Calcutta News (film)|Calcutta News]] depicts the story of women being trafficked and forced to become sex workers in Sonagachi.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/review/9460.html|title= review of the film Calcutta News}}</ref>

In his documentary [[The Five Obstructions]], renowned Danish filmmaker [[Lars von Trier]] asks poet and experimental filmmaker [[Jorgen Leth]] to name the worst place in the world he has ever visited, and immediately Leth responds with "The Red Light District of Calcutta."

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.tomvater.com/india/welcome-to-sonagachi-%E2%80%93-calcutta%E2%80%99s-largest-brothel-area-is-thriving/ Report on Sonagachi, critical of DMSC], by Tom Vater, ''The [[Irish Independent]]'', 2004.
* [http://www.indiancallboy.co.in/red-lights-sonagachi/ The Red Lights of Sonagachi] ''Positive Nation'', Dec 2003/Jan 2004; issue 85/86
* [http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/society/apr03.html Report on the Dunbar NGO], India Travel Times
* [https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/india304/thestory.html The Sex Workers], 2004 PBS Frontline documentary comparing anti-HIV efforts in Mumbai and Kolkata
* [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0238,basu,38390,1.html Giving AIDS the Red Light], ''[[The Village Voice]]'', 18 September 2002
* [http://www.nodo50.org/Laura_Agustin/changing-prices-for-sex-work-in-sonagachi-a-kolkata-red-light-district Changing prices for sex work in Sonagachi, a Kolkata red-light district]
* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Development_Cooperation_Handbook/Stories/Living_with_Dignity Living with dignity]: an international development cooperation story for the Wikibook [[File:Wikibooks-logo.svg|14px|Wikibooks]] [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Development_Cooperation_Handbook Development Cooperation Handbook]
*

{{Prostitution in India}}
{{Asia topic|Prostitution in}}
{{Kolkata neighbourhoods}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Red-light districts in India]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

Sonagachi - Revision history

117.227.14.194: Corrected.