A woman’s struggle to shelter sex workers' children – and shape their future

Having seen first-hand a pervasive stigma against sex workers and their children in the Bangladeshi society, former sex worker Hazera Begum has been providing a group of children of sex workers with shelter as well as education for more than a decade.

Kazi Nafia Rahman, Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 March 2020, 07:39 PM
Updated : 8 March 2020, 07:40 PM

She established a nonprofit called ‘Shishuder Jonno Amra’ at Sunibir Housing in the nondescript Adabor suburb in Dhaka city where 46 children, who just do not fit with anyone else in this society, are residing. .

The sufferings in her life led her to work to ensure a better future for the children, Hazera told bdnews24.com recently.

She was born to a fisherman’s family in in Dhaka in April, 1971 during the Liberation War and lost her mother in the first year of life. Her step-mother used to torture her and later she was adopted by another family. When she was 9, her father took her back but then Hazera would go to bed hungry as her family could not provide her enough food.

An exasperated Hazera fled her home for her paternal aunt’s house but lost her way. She began to live on the streets of Gulistan. Her entire childhood was lost in soup kitchens, and vagrant centres in Mirpur, Narayanganj and Gazipur.

She did everything from begging for alms to working as domestic help. But being a child, she could not keep doing the heavy work of a domestic help and began to live in open spaces like rail stations and bus stops.

Her life took a sharp turn after a year when she was sold off to a brothel on English Road with the false promise of 'work'. Hazera spent six terrible years there and finally ended up in the vagrant centre in Kashimpur.

She learned to write there. Later, she joined a readymade garment factory but returned to engage in sex trade due to poor pay. At 20, still in the sex trade, she found her long lost family.

Hazera was disturbed by the vulnerability of the sex workers’ children or seeing them growing up on the streets or brothel. She felt bad for the girls who might have no option but to take up their mothers’ profession.

“I used to feel very bad seeing all these. Mothers had to continue their sex work while the children watched. They could not hire babysitters because they couldn’t afford it. I used to think that I’ll arrange for their education if I ever got the chance. I had a childhood.”

She got the opportunity to do that in 1997 when she got engaged in an HIV awareness programme run by Care Bangladesh. Hazera began to work with ‘Durjoy Nari,’ an organisation of sex workers. She travelled to many countries and was exposed to different societies and cultures.

“That was the time when I began to consider myself as a human being. I spoke to Care Bangladesh about children and started the child care centre of Durjoy Nari,” said Hazera.

The programme started with around 70 children but got stalled after five years due to a fund crunch. She started to collect Zakat money for funding the centre with some NGO workers.

In July 2010, Hazera started a centre called ‘Shishuder Jonno Amra’ for the children of sex workers in Savar with her meagre savings and six associates.

The centre was moved to Sunibir Housing in 2011 with 26 children.

“Initially people called me insane, that I was doing it to spend all of my savings. But I continued my work. No one ever thought about the children of sex workers. At least my centre is running well,” said Hazera.

She had a hard time registering her organisation. “We could get our organisation register one and a half years after we shifted to Adabor. Then we got the strength. Many influential people encouraged us.”

“I try to educate these children so they can do whatever I couldn’t. I don’t want them to be as ill-fated as me.”

Hazera takes care of 46 children now. She arranges their education in different schools, tuitions, and hostel for older children.  The children also learn and practice handicraft and some of them raise chickens.

“Our children go to Surer Dhara to learn music. They play different sports. One of them plays in Abahani Sports Club. All of these give me peace,” she said.

“Maybe I’m not doing enough; but at least they have a shelter. We’ll even arrange everything if any of them wants to do PhD abroad. We’ll beg anyone for help.”

“Six of them have finished their studies and gone to work. They take care of their mothers now. This is what I enjoy. They even come here to meet other children and bring them delicacies,” said Hazera.

Many sex workers are willing to send their children to the centre but there is a space problem, said Hazera. She has urged the authorities to sanction them a piece of government land near Dhaka.

“Then we can arrange for children’s residence, school and clinic in the same building. Also, we’ll arrange rehabilitation of their mothers,” she said.

They will accept donations from anyone without having a ‘hidden agenda,’ she said.

Hazera has been honoured by different organisations in recognition of her work.