History
On February 15, 1992, a public health scientist Dr. Smarajit Jana of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, visited the red-light area of Sonagachi for a HIV intervention research study. A peer educator team was formed from amongst the sex workers was formed and provided training. However soon study revealed larger issues amongst sex workers, like sex workers rights, education of their children, access to financial services and handling harassment of police and localthugs, besides promoting use of condom. Thus in 1995 he formed 'Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee' (DMSC) with 12 sex workers as stakeholders, by 2012 DMSC had a membership of 65,000 from 48 branches across the state of West Bengal, and continues to be managed by sex workers, their children and government officials as its board members, and has not just female sex workers as its members but also male and transgender sex workers.
Since its inception, it has been working as an advocacy group for sex workers and over the years, it has worked towards sensitizing general public over rights of sex workers, often initiating debate and discussion in public media and press, besides advocating abolishing of 'Immoral Traffic Persons (Prevention) Act' (PITA), and legalization of sex workers. Many sex workers now have voters identity cards, health insurance and even bank accounts as banks like State Bank of India now recognize sex work as a profession. In 1995, its the consumer cooperative society and micro-credit programme, 'Usha' (literally meaning light), ensured that the Government of West Bengal altered the state’s cooperative law to register it as a sex workers cooperative, instead of a 'housewives cooperative' under the prevalent state laws. By 2006-2007, small saving of its 5,000 members lead to an annual turnover to 9.75 crore (US$1.77 million), with loan of 2.12 crore (US$385,840) distributed amongst its members, which also helped break the monopoly of local moneylenders, who would charge interest rates of up to 300%. The DMSC hosted India's first national convention of sex workers on November 14, 1997 in Kolkata, titled 'Sex Work is Real Work: We Demand Workers Rights'.
DMSC runs 17 non-formal schools for children of sex workers, and two hostels at Ultadanga and Baruipur. Its cultural wing, 'Komol Gandhar', teaches dance, drama, mime and music to children, who invited regularly for paid shows. Apart from this, DMSC was has 'Durbar football team', which mostly has children of sex workers.
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