Kamathipura

A lane in Kamathipura, a red light district in Mumbai.

Kamathipura (also spelled Kamthipura) (Marathi: कामाठीपुरा) is Mumbai's oldest and Asia's second largest red-light district. It was first settled after 1795 with the construction of causeways that connected the erstwhile seven islands of Bombay. Initially known as Lal Bazaar, it got its name from the Kamathis (workers) of Andhra Pradesh, who were labourers on construction sites. In the 1880s it turned into a "comfort zone" for British troops during the British Raj. Due to a tough police crackdown in the late 1990s, the rise of HIV/AIDS and the government's redevelopment policy, which helped sex workers move out of the profession and subsequently out of Kamathipura, the number of sex workers in the area dwindled. In 1992, the Bombay Municipal Corporation recorded 50,000 sex workers here. That number was reduced to 1,600 in 2009, with many sex workers migrating to other areas in Maharashtra and real estate developers taking over the high-priced real estate.

When the British left India, Indian sex workers took over. In recent decades, large numbers of Nepalese women and girls have also been trafficked into the district as sex workers. Over the years under Indian government rule, the sex industry in Kamathipura continued to flourish, and trafficking brought women from different parts of the country here. Eventually it became one of Asia's largest sex districts.

Location in Mumbai, India

Some customers said there were so many brothels in the area that there was no space for the sex workers to sit. They hung around in the streets, solicited customers, and then rented an available bed. Today the old density has fallen sharply. Some activity remains, but the brothel lanes are fewer, the buildings are decayed, and redevelopment pressure hangs over the whole area. The 3,000-odd buildings in the area are largely dilapidated and in urgent need of repairs; safe drinking water and sanitation are scarce as well.

Originally, Indian girls and women native to the area were used as prostitutes in Kamathipura. Women from parts of Japan and mainland Europe were smuggled into Kamathipura via sex trafficking in order to work in the area. When the area came under Indian control, women from nearby countries such as Nepal were also brought in to work.

Life of prostitutes in Kamathipura

Often, girls are made to work in prostitution in Kamathipura from a very young age; few start working there in their twenties. In addition, these girls are usually from very poor backgrounds. As a result, they have little or no formal education, and are dependent upon their "owners".

Quite often, the girls' "owners" will addict the girls to drugs in order to ensure their loyalty. If their manager, so to speak, is the only person who can give them drugs, the girls will stay loyal to them and will not try to leave.

Girls in Kamathipura can deal with many customers per day. As a result, they often have a number of sexually transmitted infections or diseases, and many even have conditions such as AIDS as a result of their work.

Current Status

Kamathipura today is not the giant brothel maze outsiders still imagine from old books, documentaries and search results. The name is still famous, and Kamathipura red-light district is still one of the biggest India red-light search terms, but the working scene is much smaller than in the 1980s and 1990s. Some brothel activity remains, but the old visible density has been cut down by police pressure, HIV/AIDS work, migration, online contacts, rent pressure and redevelopment.

Recent redevelopment plans are the biggest change. MHADA and the state have pushed cluster redevelopment for Kamathipura, with plans covering hundreds of old buildings and thousands of residents. Sex workers are often described as badly placed in this new blueprint, because the city wants the valuable old land cleaned up, but the old red-light population does not fit the new real estate story.

There has even been talk of renaming Kamathipura as part of the redevelopment push, which tells the whole story. The city wants the land, but not the old dirty name. Kamathipura's old open sex district has faded under pressure and is changing fast.

Prices and Safety

Kamathipura was always cheaper than the polished Escort market of Mumbai, but prices are not clean or stable. A woman, room and full service cost around 200 to 1000 rupees.

This is not a fun tourist sex strip. Kamathipura is poor, cramped, watched and heavily pressured. Bad rooms, STD risk, police raids, touts, trafficking concerns, theft, fake promises and local control are all part of the old reputation. The area is historically important, but the current reality is rougher and sadder than the search term Kamathipura prostitutes makes it sound.

See Also

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