Shillong, July 18:The arrest of 15 sex workers last week has created controversy.
While cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said any woman who is standing on the street can’t be termed as a sex worker as this needs verification, the sex workers’ association said that the government is not addressing their concerns.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, an organisation called Khasi Prostitutes’ Union ( KPU) said that the decision to arrest and incarcerate sex workers operating in the Khyndailad area has directly undermined sex workers’ rights and livelihoods and has not solved the problem faced by them.
Speaking to reporters, Ampareen said, “We need to have several other factors first to verify before you can consider every woman standing on road as a sex worker because that is also incorrect. We should have done specific parameters and indicators to suggest such. I feel that too much of policing is not good and the lack of it is also not good”.
“By imposing punishment on sex workers, they are directly responsible for the negative impact on the position of these underprivileged women”, the KPU president P. Kurkalang said.
The organisation asked Meghalaya government to approve plans for a red light zone/area besides allowing them to operate in a non-residential area.
The KPU also urged the Social Welfare department and Deputy Commissioners to conduct a district-wise study/survey on the plight of sex workers in Meghalaya as state authorities had only conducted a minor consultation with the members of the industry.
