More kids in school, loans for women — glimpses of change from Gujarat’s ‘village of prostitutes’

For generations, women in this traditionally nomadic tribe village have been forced into sex trade while men acted as pimps. But thanks to social workers, change is slowly creeping in.

The parents of Tinkle and Sita got married in 2012. Living away from their parents at a shelter home run by an NGO, the girls want to study to become a doctor and police officer | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Banaskantha: The village of Vadia in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district is an unusual one. It’s a place of great secrecy and isolation, and, in contrast to a seemingly modern-day India, it’s a place where time appears to have stopped altogether.

For generations, the women in this village of Saraniyas, a nomadic tribe, have been forced into flesh trade — the only major source of income. Illiterate and lacking agency, the women are entirely at the mercy of the men, who are mostly unemployed and act as pimps, pushing girls sometimes as young as 12 into sex trade.   

The apparent isolation of the village manifests itself in various problems — chief among them a very poor understanding of sexually-transmitted illnesses such HIV and an acute, almost crippling, water shortage.

In order to bring about a change and prevent women from entering flesh trade, social workers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have tried to intervene. As an adverse result, girls as young as seven are arranged to be engaged to boys from among their relatives or from nearby villages.

But a slow change is creeping on, mostly because of social workers. In 2012, thanks to their intervention, eight couples got married in the village — the first time a marriage ceremony took place in the village. Since then, the village has been seeing 4-5 mass marriages every year, saving women from entering the flesh trade.

Sex workers are also being encouraged to start their own businesses and even given loans for going ahead with their plans.

Meanwhile, children are being encouraged to study: the village’s only primary school — a dilapidated structure at entrance of the village — caters to 186 students. Some children are even encouraged to leave homes to go live in hostels and shelter homes in Tharad, a town 45 minutes away. 

ThePrint’s national photo editor Praveen Jain and principal correspondent Bismee Taskin bring glimpses of from Gujarat’s Vadia village.

Children participate in activities at a school in Vadia village in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Children play at the school in Vadia village in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

The only primary school in Vadia village doesn’t have a functional drinking water system | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

The village school caters to 186 children | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

For young girls studying at the primary school in Vadia, its a struggle to complete their education against all odds | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Classes being held at the village school | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Students study in a temporary shed at the village school in Vadia, Banaskantha district. The primary school is currently undergoing repairs  | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

School’s over, and students of the Vadia village school leave for home | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Children pose at an anganwadi in Vadia village in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Students study at the school in Vadia. The school, which caters to children from nursery up to Grade 5, holds classes from 8 am to 12 pm | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Students return home after classes at the village school | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Sonal, a sex worker, hurries inside to close the gate. Beside her is her mother, Suriya, a former sex worker who quit the trade due to kidney ailment | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

In Vadia village in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, change is slow | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

At Vadia, Bhikkiben lives a life of seclusion after she tested positive for HIV four years ago. Shunned by most of the village, including her own family, she lives a one-room kuccha house with her few possessions | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Women might be the primary bread-earners in this village but its the men who control them, pushing girls as young as 12 into flesh trade | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment aren’t the only problems in Vadia. The village suffers from a crippling water shortage, forcing women to spend hours each day to look for water | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Kantibhai and Kamiben got married in 2012 — one of the first marriages in the village. They have four daughters, the oldest in Class 6 | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

The men of Vadia village are unemployed and act as pimps, forcing the village women into flesh trade | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint