SCRET OF INDIA'S WOMEN EDUCATION FINANCE

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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TOO HIGH A PRICE FOR TUITION FEES 
 
 
BY DEEPANKAR GANGULY
 
Calcutta, Aug.21 
She studies by day and earns her living by night.
But 18-year-old Nayana Sen (not her real name) cannot tell her friends
in junior college, where she is studying to clear her Higher Secondary
exams, what she does after classes get over.

Every evening, Nayana rushes off from college to room 409 at Sonagachhi.
Here, she entertains five customers till midnight, before sitting down
to study.

A torrid twist of fate has landed Nayana in the labyrinthine lanes and
bylanes of Sonagachhi, the city’s most populous red-light area.

Her father, a police officer with Golabari thana, died in 1990. Elder
brother Sunil left for the lure of the greenbacks and never looked back.

Nayana and her mother could barely make both ends meet with her deceased
father’s meagre pension. Then, her mother was afflicted with leukaemia.

“We fought the curse with all we had for six long years,” recalls
Nayana, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her mother lost the protracted
battle with blood cancer and she her last remaining hope, last
September. The pension stopped with the death of Nayana’s mother.

Then, a distant relative, who was also a neighbour, dangled a lifeline
in front of the hapless teenager.

Before she could realise what was happening, a dazed Nayana landed up at
the doorstep of Sandhya, the madam of one of the innumerable brothels
that dot Sonagachhi.

Confronted by the brutal fact that she would have to “sell her body to
survive”, Nayana fled Sonagachhi, only to return a week later,
reconciled to the fact that if she had to sustain her studies, and pave
the path to a future, she would have to earn her tuition fees.

Initially, Nayana became one of Benarasi’s girls. She made Rs 90 from
her first customer, the rest going to the madam as “cut money”.

Today, Nayana entertains five customers, for Rs 110 each, every day from
4 pm till midnight.

“I can barely have a bath after rushing back from college, when the
first visitor knocks on the door,” says Nayana.

“None of my friends in college knows. How can I tell them this is what I
do for a living? How will they understand? Their tuition fees are
provided by their parents. My case is so different,” she sobs.

But even in Nayana’s dark existence, she now finds a ray of hope.

Unlike those before him, her present landlord, Narayanda, allows her to
study.

Once the last visitor leaves Room 409, Nayana gets back to her books and
her dreams of breaking free, “some day soon”.

“I have already saved Rs 15,000 in the last eight months and if things
go all right, I hope to get out of this hell-hole in a year’s time,” she
smiles.

Will Nayana fulfil her dream of starting her own business in a year,
shutting the doors on a sordid past and moving towards a better
tomorrow?

One can never be sure. But she surely won’t give up without a fight.

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One can not, but admire the spirit of this woman. We have seen it in films, sick mother and family to take are of, pursuing education and selling body in process. But such determined people seem to exist in reality as well. Very few men are anywhere near as responsible to parents and have zeal for education as she is being.

Of course, it is a shame for India or other third world countries that there is such a rampant poverty.

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[quote]
Originally posted by ullu:
**One can not, but admire the spirit of this woman. We have seen it in films, sick mother and family to take are of, pursuing education and selling body in process. But such determined people seem to exist in reality as well. Very few men are anywhere near as responsible to parents and have zeal for education as she is being.

Of course, it is a shame for India or other third world countries that there is such a rampant poverty.**
[/quote]

shutting the doors on a sordid past and moving towards a better
tomorrow?

One can never be sure. But she surely won’t give up without a fight.    
**
[/QUOTE]

Ullu-did you calculate the income 110 X5=550 a night or 2500 /weeki.e if unlike most indians she takes sat &sun off.Say she gives 500/week to pimp &others .The sum of 8000 per month is too much money .Tuition in india is subdized by govt. like in Pakistan.If any of you have gone to karachi univ, or dow medical college ,u know u dont have to prostitute yourself no matter how poor you are,

Chanceses are she never going to make that kind of money even with the education that she wants,i.e. if she survives the russian roulette she is playing with aids,psychopath killer &infectious diseases of calcutta ,t.b.malaria,syphillis,gonorrhoea,chlamydia,cCancer -more common in primiscous & prostitutes,unhealthy life style,psychological depression,low self esteem,no future in bride burning atmosphere of india.

Ullu how do u know ,what she needs education for.India is house full of unemployed grad.look at the techy from india working here for pittence compared to american.

You are right in last sentence about sadness of the story with bleak ending.

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Your calculation is wrong. More than 50% of earnigs go to owner of brothel and pimps. So the calculated income reduces to 5000 rs. a month which is not much in a city like Calcutta if you do not have house of your own. We have to also remember that she is just 18 year old, age at which we did everything with support of our parents. Atr least I would not judge her for the simple reason that I find her handling responsiblities of parents and education at age of 18 which I never did. Secondly, what other choice she has. Which kind of jobs exist in India for 18 yr. old uneducated girl?

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Sanam wrote :

India is house full of unemployed grad.look at the techy from india working here for pittence compared to american.

I want you to throw some light also on the general employment scene in Pakistan and the kind of jobs/pay the Pakistanis get in the US.
No I am not being sarcastic, just wanted to know If Pakistan has changed since last night. If it hasn't , you better take care of your house.....ciao

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[quote]
Originally posted by Some1:
**---------
Sanam wrote :

India is house full of unemployed grad.look at the techy from india working here for pittence compared to american.

I want you to throw some light also on the general employment scene in Pakistan and the kind of jobs/pay the Pakistanis get in the US.
No I am not being sarcastic, just wanted to know If Pakistan has changed since last night. If it hasn't , you better take care of your house.....ciao
**
[/quote]

Come on although prostitution is the oldest profession & is wevery where including pakistan (lashore ?)but not to the defree tha it is in india Estitamated 40 million with consequence of 4 million diagnosed AID & 16 million cant get medical dx facility remain undetected.

Its all b/c of hindu hx. of devdasi & no stigma attached to t AS EVIDENCED BY ATTITDE OF CAVALRY BY YOU & ULLU.Its matter of fact there whereas in moslem society it is ground for suicde or so.

Even if there were dancing girls in lucknow ala Pkeezah & umraon jan Ada,those were sophistication centeres those days wgere hindus went to learn urdu zaban,tehzeeb,adab b/c they craved for these artistry including poetry,music & dance.The prostitution of india is purely discusting & it is dihonour to mujra to compare that with garbage of calcutta bmy.dlhi red light districts.

As to unemployment in islam it is more worthy to have higher unemployment than to work in 'sex indusrtries'india 2nd most employing industry after IT techy .I dont think education is even worth prostitution in islam,may be hindus who worship sarswati consider holy to lay down there virginity on the alter like the devdasi was madew to do for the prists & temples &Kali mai .THE GODESS of PROSTITUTES!!

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if u think u can provoke me with the above load of CRAP...sorry buddy

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sanam, in stead of shouting about morality, consider a girl child whose father is dead when she was 8, mother was terminally sick and needed to be taken care of, brother deserting the family that needed him badly. i donno how much morality u will have if, god forbid, such a misfortune fell on u. however, it is indeed encouraging that she is trying to pursue education and get out of the mess she finds herself in with help of education.

In fact, I find her great, her brother in similar situation, ran away from home and not turned back. Maybe he is doing some very moral job. But he did not take care of his mother and sister. She could have done the same and denied her mother. She is not doing that. All the same, she could have stayed in that business all the time and earned more. She is trying to educate herself and get out of it.

[This message has been edited by ullu (edited September 04, 2000).]

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Sanam,

Its all b/c of hindu hx. of devdasi & no stigma attached to t AS EVIDENCED BY ATTITDE OF CAVALRY BY YOU & ULLU.Its matter of fact there whereas in moslem society it is ground for suicde or so.<<
Stop drivelling. I observe some of you hate mongers are knowledgable enough to know the Caste of devdasis from my own part of India

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/biggrin.gif

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/biggrin.gif

I got first hand knowledge of these people and let me tell you most of them are not in family business.
The few of them that do stick to their business, let me tell you they are not cheap prostitutes.
It is a high class act all the way.

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/biggrin.gif

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/biggrin.gif

You must be really somebody in society to be able to maintain them

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/biggrin.gif

Even if there were dancing girls in lucknow ala Pkeezah & umraon jan Ada,those were sophistication centeres those days wgere hindus went to learn urdu zaban,tehzeeb,adab b/c they craved for these artistry including poetry<<

Hindus need no lessons from Muslims about any form of art.
Infact if you look around singing and photography are banned in your favourite country, Afghanistan.

Though I have to concede Muslims produced great artists like Naushad and Mohammed Rafi who I believe is one of the greatest Indian singers ever.

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Andhra, I think the general commentary on prostitution is besides the point. Let us consider the specific case posted by sanam. How many kids who have lost both parents and no real support would still be in education. This child went into prostitution when both parents died and she had no support. One has to admit that in teen age a person has genuine difficulty in distinguishing right and wrong. Also one has to see that this kid did not have many choices. At this age, most of us were completely sheltered by our parents.
However, taking case of an unfortunate orphan who ended selling her body in teen age (not robbing or cheating, people go to prostitutes by their own choice) and making political capital out of it, talking about morality of her country is plain pathetic. We see people cheating, lying, robbing, bribing when the situation is far less compelling. Would Benazir/Nawaz die of hunger if they did not do as much corruption as they did? Would Salim Malik starve to death if he did not sell himself to bookies? This girl at least was facing a compelling situation and there is none to help her or guide her.

[This message has been edited by ullu (edited September 04, 2000).]

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Infact if you look around singing and photography are banned in your favourite country, Afghanistan.

Though I have to concede Muslims produced great artists like Naushad and Mohammed Rafi who I believe is one of the greatest Indian singers ever.**
[/QUOTE]

There is hell of difference between pakeezah & umraon type of ‘bazari aurat’& eventhough they are called randi mamong moslem b/c of stricter sense of modesty & sex segration among moslem that even nurjehan would be in that category for hawking her feminine voice.
What i have seen on discovery travel,news magzine these are so cheap hawking vulgar dirty shabby in huts of calcutta madras,delhi bombay ,that is the sort of ppl. we are talking about being in millions in india causing greatest explosion of aids with 4 million of them diagnosed by hiv +results.

There is no doubt moslem may not have wealth for they are stricter in not doing interest related business unless they break religous rules,they cant let girls in modelling or acting or singuing profession easily without breakng religous rules .There fore comparision of hindu society of india cannot be compared with Pakistan b/c we are playing by different rules.Does thatMEAN, all moslem are following islam of course not,but non islamic activities by discouragement or non patronization are very less than in india where it is promoted & invested in.

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You are telling that there is so much morality in Muslim countries. Muslim countries are some of the most corrupt countries in the world. You might have heard case of Ameena, 12 yr. old girl rescued from an Arab who bought her for some money. Why did her father sell 12 yr. old daughter to 65 year old arab. All of them, father, girl, arab, middleman were Muslims. This selling of Hyderabadi Muslim girls to Arabs still countinues. There are similar reports from Bangladesh and Pakistan as well. Is drug peddling moral? Your taliban live on that. So Muslims in general and muslim countries in particular have not shown any higher standards of morality and if any have showed only lower standards. So what are u talking about?

And again the question is if u r sure that u will not do what she did if u face same situation. i dont know many people who will be able to claim that.

[This message has been edited by ZZ (edited September 05, 2000).]

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[quote]
Originally posted by ZZ:
**You are telling that there is so much morality in Muslim countries. Muslim countries are some of the most corrupt countries in the world. You might have heard case of Ameena, 12 yr. old girl rescued from an Arab who bought her for some money. Why did her father sell 12 yr. old daughter to 65 year old arab. All of them, father, girl, arab, middleman were Muslims. This selling of Hyderabadi Muslim girls to Arabs still countinues. There are similar reports from Bangladesh and Pakistan as well. Is drug peddling moral? Your taliban live on that. So Muslims in general and muslim countries in particular have not shown any higher standards of morality and if any have showed only lower standards. So what are u talking about?

And again the question is if u r sure that u will not do what she did if u face same situation. i dont know many people who will be able to claim that.

[This message has been edited by ZZ (edited September 05, 2000).]**
[/quote]

[This message has been edited by ZZ (edited September 05, 2000).]**
[/QUOTE]

Although the Amina story is sad & highly played b/c it was detected in flight & of course for ppl. like YOU it was a fodder to conteract charges of large no. of prostitutes & aids .Remember there is degree in sin,If an old man marries a young girl it is considered undesirable but not illegal in law of the lands IN EVERY country.Apparently marriage age of girls are lower in Saudi than in west & india.Prostitution is in Islam is totally abhorent ,& yes marrying a old man is atleast legalised prostitution& i mean religiously.An old man can have a young girl even in America Old haggard Howard Hughes had Buxom anna nicole ,Michael douglas has his daughter age wife catherine Zeta Jones,Yes 16 is lower age group but thats there country's law & not YOURS.Who are you to say .

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Ameena was crying and thus rescued. If u sell a 12 yr. old girl to an old man, it is as bad as prostitution because her father is selling her body for money. Even in America if u or me sleep with underage girl even with her consent, u will end up in jail. In this case, there was no consent even.

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Muslims countries one of the corrupt in the world????
Where have you been living????
Also if you consider a monarchy for govt corrupt then every ME country is corrupt.
But that for of govt does keep the people in line.
I think that honor goes to the mid african countries like DRCONGO and ZAMBIA!!!

Also have you been to any Arab country ZZ - just checking if you speak from experience or just repeating what you learnt at the University of Stupid!!!

CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE

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Also Sanam will you Shut Up already.
Yes we know there is prositution in India.
Yes it is part of their religion.
We have covered this many times - even before i was here.
The story is of a courageous girl who i looking for a better life no matter what she has to endure during the present.
I truly admire her spirit and wish her all the best.
MAY ALLAH BLESS HER WITH ALL THAT SHE WISHES FOR!!!!!

CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE

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I can't understand why people are obsessed about prostitutes.
Though I have to say I personally never visited one, I consider the pimp to be worse than the prostitute.

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[quote]
Originally posted by CM:
*Also Sanam will you Shut Up already.
Yes we know there is prositution in India.
Yes it is part of their religion.
We have covered this many times - even before i was here.
The story is of a courageous girl who i looking for a better life no matter what she has to endure during the present.
I truly admire her spirit and wish her all the best.
MAY ALLAH BLESS HER WITH ALL THAT SHE WISHES FOR!!!!!
*
[/quote]

I truly admire her spirit and wish her all the best.
MAY ALLAH BLESS HER WITH ALL THAT SHE WISHES FOR!!!!!
**
[/QUOTE]

ZZ get this straight .I know the u.s .law & saudu law they are not the same >If you have problem with that profoundly go jump & kill yourself in lake michigan or where ever you live.Dont apply consent law & at minor age it is the parents that decide & it is isn't that horrible as you are pretending it to make it out.In india there are many minor get married with the consent of parents on both sides.Who is going to charge when there is no complaint.And remember marriage is much more than prostitution ,it is life time commitment by both including the man,Its not 100 rs deal that u have in calcutta.
And Andhra,its true many ppl. are to be blamed but not all prostitution cases are forced or at the point of knife or gun ,AS IN THIS STORY ,IT IS A WILLING PARTNER.IDONT THINK END JUSTIFIES THE MEAN in any case be it prostitution or stealing or smuggling or lying or any sin what so ever.To commit crime is sinful but to JUSTIFY IT AS U ARE IS EVEN WORSE THAN PIMP.

And the guy,CM, who doesn't like prostitution subject ,for some reason ,plz start a thread of your own & ill be happy to comment on it.

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To commit crime is sinful but to JUSTIFY IT AS U ARE IS EVEN WORSE THAN PIMP.<<
I agree that justifying crimes is wrong.
But I wonder why is it that the pimps always go scot free?
And the prostitutes always punished?
Is it because women are weak?

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[quote]
Originally posted by Andhra:
*>>To commit crime is sinful but to JUSTIFY IT AS U ARE IS EVEN WORSE THAN PIMP.<<
I agree that justifying crimes is wrong.
But I wonder why is it that the pimps always go scot free?
And the prostitutes always punished?
Is it because women are weak?
*
[/quote]

Pimps are culpable under anti traficking laws.But i agree it is not only girls fault .it is society 's duty to provide protect & shelter before pointing finger.As in GEETA "Use dand dene ki koi adhikar nahi hai jinhe sharan dene ki shakti nahi hai""