Sex workers on Delhi’s GB Road battle poor living conditions ahead of assembly polls

Sex workers in Delhi's GB Road struggle for basic amenities, hoping for change as assembly polls approach.

Hundreds of sex workers cramped up in Delhi's GB Road, the city’s red light area, struggle for basic civic amenities like reliable electricity, clean drinking water, and sanitary living conditions, every day of their lives.

As political parties gear up for assembly polls on February 5, with vote counting scheduled for February 8, these women, living on the margins of the city’s consciousness, are hoping their voices get heard and the new government addresses their long standing issues.

Savitri (name changed), a sex worker for the past 30 years, lamented the lack of attention from political leaders.

"We cast our votes like everybody else, but we are the least considered. We live a life where four or five women share a single room. At least 10 to 15 women live on one floor, with only one washroom for all of us," she said.

Reshma (name changed), a sex worker around 30-years-old, described the constant struggle with unhygienic conditions due to inadequate water and sanitation.

She said in the morning, there is no electricity for three to four hours and it is the same even at night. In the winter, it's manageable, but summers are unbearable.

She said that their rooms do not even have proper windows for air or sunlight.