Manjula: Chickballapur’s Beacon of Hope

This is the inspirational story of Manjula, a 38-year-old woman from Chickballapur, Karnataka, who
overcame adversity and is now spreading awareness and bringing about change in her society. Manjula
was born in D.M Doddi town, 46 km from Ramanagara Taluk/District Center. She lived with her parents
and brother. Her father was a Public Works Department contractor which gave her the opportunity to
study in a college. However, she left college without completing her graduation because she fell in love
with a boy named Shankar. Her family did not accept this relationship, so she left home in 2002 and got
married to him at the age of 18.

However, once she got married, she got to know that Shankar was an alcoholic. After three years of their
marriage, Shankar cheated on Manjula and married another woman. To make matters worse, he brought
the other woman to live in the same house as Manjula. By this time, Manjula already had two daughters
with Shankar. But the presence of another woman resulted in Manjula and her daughters’ neglect.
Manjula struggled to feed her daughters food daily. , Hence, she decided to send one of her daughters to
her father’s house and the other daughter to her sister’s house. This way, she could ensure that they are
taken care of while she did various odd jobs like working as a construction labourer or a streetside fruit
vendor. Her husband and his second wife were aware that Manjula came from a well-to-do family, so
they tortured her mentally and physically on a regular basis to extort money from her for drinking and
business, but she refused to give them any money

One day, Shankar’s niece, Mary, came to visit them. She promised Manjula a job and, under that guise,
sold her to a brothel in Chickballapur in 2009. Since that day, Manjula has been working as a sex worker.
Things haven’t been easy for Manjula as sex work is still prohibited by the law under Section 2(f) of The
Immoral Trafficking Act (1956). She lived under constant threat of being arrested and was discriminated
against by house owners and the law. She fought to get access to basic health services and respect for her
work.. As a sex worker, she also faced harassment from clients, the community, the police, and even her
own family members. She lacked a safe working environment, and most of her income would be taken
away by the police or goons. She tried to go back to her house, but she was not accepted back by her
family and was unable to find alternate employment. Tragedy did not leave Manjula, her husband died in
a car accident while her eldest daughter committed suicide. Ultimately, she returned to sex work.

When she returned, she came in contact with a community-based organisation named Soukhya Sanjeevini
Samsthe which works with women sex workers in the Chickballabur district and identified her as a sex
worker. At this point, Manjula did not know about HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. The
staff counseled her on HIV/AIDS, sex worker rights, and the Community-based Organisation’s work. At
this point, she had lost everything and did not have hope for the future, but interacting with Soukhya
Sanjeevini Samsthe gave her hope. It provided her with an opportunity to hone her inner skills and
become a leader. She joined the group as a peer educator in the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society
Female Sex Workers Targeted Intervention programme. As a part of the programme, she attended
inductions and refresher trainings on leadership qualities, roles and responsibilities, etc. Through her hard
work and dedication, she got promoted and played the role of Project Director, Secretary of the
Community-based Organisation, outreach worker, and Health & Wealth services facilitator. She went on
to finish her graduation and is now working as a Community Counselor, Field level staff (Health &
Wealth Facilitator), Paralegal volunteer, Media Sensitizer, and Police Sensitizer in Soukhya Sanjeevini
Samsthe at Chickballapur. She is also a Taaras State-level leader. Manjula has a good rapport with
stakeholders, mainly Health & Family Welfare and Women & Child welfare departments, which helps
the community in availing Health & Wealth services, Social Entitlements & Schemes for sex workers.

Since 2014, the Community-based Organisation joined hands with Swasti, which has allowed Manjula to
increase the impact of her work by being a part of Swasti’s programmes as a health and wealth leader. As
a Taaras leader, she has had the opportunity to be a part of many Leadership Development Programmes
and Trainings conducted by Swasti to hone her leadership skills. She has also been able to participate in
State and National level sex workers' forums to discuss community issues and needs.

Manjula has been spearheading change ever since she joined the Community-based Organisation in 2010.
For her exceptional work, she has received many awards and recognitions. She is recognised as a
paralegal volunteer and has represented the Community-based Organisation in many District, State, and
National level networks and communities formed by the Government and NGOs for the welfare of sex
workers. She has also been recognised as an Inspiring Leader by the District Administration and has
received awards from the District Commissioner, Zilla panchayat CEO, District health officer, Deputy
Director of Women & Child Welfare, and Indian Redcross Society. Her work has also been covered in the
Deccan Herald (Kannada edition), which led her to reconnect with and be accepted by her family.

Manjula’s courage and work have led to change for the sex workers' community of Chickballapur.
Through her work, the sex worker community of Chickballapur is now aware of sexually transmitted
diseases and the needs and issues of the community are better addressed. She is an inspirational woman
and has brought change into the lives of many despite all the adversities life has thrown at her.