INTERVIEW
Formerly a garments’ factory worker, Lucky apa resorted to sex work in her early twenties in the hopes of earning a higher pay than the insufficient amount offered by the factory. She is about twenty-eight now, and has remained in this line of work.
Apa’s two children attend school and live with their grandmother and father, whom apa has separated from. She is not in contact with her children at the moment.
Prior to the pandemic, Lucky apa’s income could go upto as much as 1200tk per night; but the amount has significantly dropped since then, with her now earning an average of about 500-600tk per night. She currently works 2-3 days a week, and lives in Doyagonj slum in Dholpur.
While sex work does come with health risks, condoms and health checkups are provided to sex workers free of cost at certain healthcare centres. However, most sex workers report that even with relentless persuasion and warnings about STIs and STDs, almost all customers are reluctant to wear condoms, leaving everyone involved even more vulnerable to health complications.
Prepared by Joyee Saha and Prithul Hia
This piece was made in collaboration with Bodol and TransEnd.