Nirupoma, a successful business woman, Who passed long days in unlawful and dark life? - 3

Interview taken by: M.G. Rabbany & Mohtarmun Bipa

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NIrupoma used to train other sex workers in the hotel. Her main duty was in the hotels where she also had to stay for running her sex trade. She worked in this project more than two years. This time she became aware of hiv/aids/stds. She became introduced with many sex workers, clients and hotels owners in Dhaka city.

From the beginning time she thought that she would not run her profession whole life and so she would have to save some more money to drive her life in another profession. She also says that sex workers can not save money due to many reasons. Most of the time sex workers are cheated by the lovers or acting husbands or cheater relatives. They are also harassed by the hotel staffs, local muscle men, police etc. At the same time, hotel based sex workers receive less money from the clients. Though hotel owners receive more than 300 taka from each client per program but sex workers receive only 70 taka 80 taka from per client per program.

In 2004, she visited several times the Sathi (now Nari Jibon) office where they (sex workers) often discussed alternative skills and where they were motivated to change their profession. She was also thinking to change her profession. Actually she motivated to change her life from there. Her friend and later her husband helped her to change her life.

Nirupoma got married in the middle of 2003 with Sajjad who gave her shelter and residence facilities. From the beginning time his guardians were aware about her. He often lived with her. Day by day he became weak to her. At last he got married her. Now they live are living together renting a flat. Nirupoma arranged marriage ceremony at her native village. Sometime she visits her village with her husband. Last year Nirupoma gave birth to a female child and now (August, 07) it is 18 months old. Her husband is a businessman and he is running a (TV, Fridge) sales centre in Dhaka. Her husband helped her to set up her beauty parlor & training centre. Her husband did not take her cash ever and he did not harass her ever. After getting married, Nirupoma has given up her sex working profession.

As a woman businessman and an ex-sex worker sometimes she faces problem but she can overcome everything easily. As an example, one of her neighboring shopkeeper complained to her shop owner that she was a sex worker and requested to expel her. But shop owner said to him that he knew that she was sex worker in her past life, but now she is doing only business and her dealing is also better than him. After that her neighboring shopkeeper did not say anything about her. Some beauty parlor owners also tried to chase away her but now most of them have quitted trying to chase away her. At present usually she does not face any problem though many persons know her as a sex worker but now many persons know that she has quitted her previous profession. Rest of her life she wants to pass out of sex working life. She thinks that her past life was in the dark and now she is in light.

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