Sangram
Encyclopedia
Sampada Gramin Mahila Sanstha (SANGRAM) is a voluntary organization that works at the grassroots
level with activists, volunteers and paid workers. It is slowly gaining importance as a practical training ground for other NGO’s and GO’s interested in working on HIV
/AIDS
in a rural
context. SANGRAM started its work with women in prostitution
and sex work
from South Maharashtra
and North Karnataka
in 1992 and has since fanned out among diverse populations. SANGRAM is based in Sangli district
, which has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in Maharashtra after Mumbai
.
s to 5,500 women each month. These women include devadasi
s, streetwalkers, and housewives
in sex work, "flying" sex workers working in different locations, brothel
keepers, PLHA etc.
The locations that the peer education
programme spans are as diverse as the women themselves. They range from small hutments to sturdy homes in industrial centres like Karad
, where household women turn to prostitution and sex work on market days. They include textile towns like Ichalkaranji
, popularly known as the Manchester of India, and truck stops like Pethnaka on national highway no 4, where women from nearby villages work from midnight to dawn. They cover dhabas and cloth cabins, brothels and lodges.
Unlike programmes that view sex workers as carriers of HIV, SANGRAM’s peer education programme sees a woman in prostitution and sex work as an individual who can be empowered to become an agent of change for herself and her community. This vision is based on two underlying premises:
It frames HIV within a context of sexuality, gender and rights. For instance, condoms are viewed as life-saving equipment that women in prostitution and sex work must have access to – by right. Workers are trained on issues such as law, inheritance, property rights and other gendered issues related to HIV.
programme began in 1992, it was run by SANGRAM. Since 1996, the peer intervention has been run by VAMP, a collective of women in prostitution and sex work. As part of its responsibilities, VAMP runs and manages the peer intervention in the six districts where it began: Sangli
, Satara
, Kolhapur
, Solapur
, Bagalkot
, Belgaum
. “Once VAMP was formed, we actually decided to close down SANGRAM.” But the women perceived it as abandonment. “They would tell us, 'Because we are sex workers, you want us to form our own organization and work on our own,' recalls SANGRAM staff.
VAMP members – all of whom are women in prostitution and sex work – said they felt comfortable managing the community on their own, but needed help with back-office work: writing proposals, managing accounts, dealing with the Charity Commissioner etc. “We will manage the community at all levels and only come to you in a crisis,” VAMP members told SANGRAM staff. It was then decided that the two organizations should collaborate – with each bringing its strengths and meeting the other’s needs.
Women in prostitution and sex work are champions at orally keeping track of money and handling salary and other disbursals – but putting it on paper is another story. “The women are scared of paperwork.” “They need to learn that they don’t need to be scared – but this is an alien space for them.” An earlier attempt to train the women did not work. “The energy dipped.” Now, for each project that VAMP runs, its members select a co-ordinator who will put their words on paper.
Reading, writing, and doing paperwork is a need that women in prostitution and sex work often need help with, simply because many of them have never been to school. But not being able to read or write does not mean that they cannot think. Working from its philosophy of building capacities, SANGRAM proposed a unique solution to the paperwork problem:
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
level with activists, volunteers and paid workers. It is slowly gaining importance as a practical training ground for other NGO’s and GO’s interested in working on HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
context. SANGRAM started its work with women in prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and sex work
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
from South Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and North Karnataka
North Karnataka
North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...
in 1992 and has since fanned out among diverse populations. SANGRAM is based in Sangli district
Sangli district
Sangli district is a district of Maharashtra state in west-central India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. The district is 24.51% urban. Sangli and Miraj are the largest cities. The industrial town of Kirloskarwadi is also located in the Sangli District...
, which has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in Maharashtra after Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
The peer intervention
One settlement in one town: from this small beginning in 1992, the peer education programme has grown to span six districts in Maharashtra and the border areas of North Karnataka. About 120 peer educators drop off 350,000 condomCondom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s to 5,500 women each month. These women include devadasi
Devadasi
In Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
s, streetwalkers, and housewives
Housewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
in sex work, "flying" sex workers working in different locations, brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
keepers, PLHA etc.
The locations that the peer education
Peer education
Peer Education is an approach to health promotion, in which community members are supported to promote health-enhancing change among their peers...
programme spans are as diverse as the women themselves. They range from small hutments to sturdy homes in industrial centres like Karad
Karad
Karad is a town and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River. The two rivers originate at Mahabaleshwar which is around 100 km from Karad. They diverge at their origin and then meet again in...
, where household women turn to prostitution and sex work on market days. They include textile towns like Ichalkaranji
Ichalkaranji
Ichalkaranji is located at . It has an average elevation of 538 metres .Ichalkaranji , lies in the Pancaganga valley about eighteen miles east of Kolhapur and half a mile north of the river. It is six miles southeast of Hatkanangale railway station...
, popularly known as the Manchester of India, and truck stops like Pethnaka on national highway no 4, where women from nearby villages work from midnight to dawn. They cover dhabas and cloth cabins, brothels and lodges.
Unlike programmes that view sex workers as carriers of HIV, SANGRAM’s peer education programme sees a woman in prostitution and sex work as an individual who can be empowered to become an agent of change for herself and her community. This vision is based on two underlying premises:
- Insiders are more effective than outsiders in reaching the community
- Women in prostitution and sex work can reliably enforce condom use for their own protection
It frames HIV within a context of sexuality, gender and rights. For instance, condoms are viewed as life-saving equipment that women in prostitution and sex work must have access to – by right. Workers are trained on issues such as law, inheritance, property rights and other gendered issues related to HIV.
VAMP
When the peer educationPeer education
Peer Education is an approach to health promotion, in which community members are supported to promote health-enhancing change among their peers...
programme began in 1992, it was run by SANGRAM. Since 1996, the peer intervention has been run by VAMP, a collective of women in prostitution and sex work. As part of its responsibilities, VAMP runs and manages the peer intervention in the six districts where it began: Sangli
Sangli district
Sangli district is a district of Maharashtra state in west-central India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. The district is 24.51% urban. Sangli and Miraj are the largest cities. The industrial town of Kirloskarwadi is also located in the Sangli District...
, Satara
Satara district
Satara District is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km² and a population of 2,808,994 of which 14.17% were urban . Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Wai, Karad, Koregaon, Koyananagar, Rahimatpur, Phaltan, Mahabaleshwar...
, Kolhapur
Kolhapur District
Kolhapur district is located in Maharashtra state. The city of Kolhapur is the district headquarters. The district had a population of 3,523,162 of which 29.81% were urban as of 2001...
, Solapur
Solapur District
- Solapur District is a district in Maharashtra state of India. The city of Solapur is the district headquarters. It is located on the south east edge of the state and lies entirely in the Bhima and Seena basins. The entire district is drained by the Bhima River.Solapur district leads in beedi...
, Bagalkot
Bagalkot district
Bāgalkot district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The district headquarters is located in the town of Bagalkot. The district is located in northern Karnataka and borders Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur and Bijapur...
, Belgaum
Belgaum district
Belgaum district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters in North Karnataka. By the 2011 Census of India, it had a population of 4778439...
. “Once VAMP was formed, we actually decided to close down SANGRAM.” But the women perceived it as abandonment. “They would tell us, 'Because we are sex workers, you want us to form our own organization and work on our own,' recalls SANGRAM staff.
VAMP members – all of whom are women in prostitution and sex work – said they felt comfortable managing the community on their own, but needed help with back-office work: writing proposals, managing accounts, dealing with the Charity Commissioner etc. “We will manage the community at all levels and only come to you in a crisis,” VAMP members told SANGRAM staff. It was then decided that the two organizations should collaborate – with each bringing its strengths and meeting the other’s needs.
Women in prostitution and sex work are champions at orally keeping track of money and handling salary and other disbursals – but putting it on paper is another story. “The women are scared of paperwork.” “They need to learn that they don’t need to be scared – but this is an alien space for them.” An earlier attempt to train the women did not work. “The energy dipped.” Now, for each project that VAMP runs, its members select a co-ordinator who will put their words on paper.
Reading, writing, and doing paperwork is a need that women in prostitution and sex work often need help with, simply because many of them have never been to school. But not being able to read or write does not mean that they cannot think. Working from its philosophy of building capacities, SANGRAM proposed a unique solution to the paperwork problem:
- Women in prostitution and sex work would record their day-to-day work and accounts by dictating these to literate people in their own community – clients, sons, daughters, and colleagues.
- A person trusted and identified by VAMP members would be appointed as co-ordinator. Raju Naik, the person who the women chose, is the son of a sex worker. He is the first male co-ordinator of VAMP, and his salary is split between VAMP and SANGRAM.