Sex workers with attitude: shock. Outrage. Middle-class morality suitably scandalized. The reactions were predictable. Even Mari Marcel Thekaekara wasn't quite sure what to expect from a co-operative of sex workers—and in communist kolkata of all places, where co-ops are usually of the party, for the party and by the party. Then she went to find out for herself

'What impact has it made on you personally?' I ask Kajol Bose, the President of USHA.

'Before, if someone was dying we could not get money except at exorbitant rates of interest,' she replies. 'Now I've built a house for my family. Paid for my daughter's wedding. I have money in the bank. But USHA is about more than just money. I am called in to settle local disputes. My word counts. I'm someone here. Not just a nobody like before.'

Bharati De adds: 'Our condition is a hundred times better than before. Before Durbar, the police would treat us like dirt. Arrest, beat, rape, abuse us, call us filthy names. Now when I go to the police station, they say: "Have a seat." Can you imagine--the police saying "have a seat" to me!"

She continues: 'Today our women stand in front of a mike, in front of thousands of people, and demand our rights. Yes, life has changed for us. It was a hard fight, but now we can hold our beads up high.'

Marl Marcel Thekaekara is a regular contributor to the NI.

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