The first and only bank in the country that caters exclusively to sex workers is in dire straits.
Every day, Sangini Women’s Cooperative Society gets several applications for loans from sex workers, but the administration is helpless due to lack of funding. They have approached several corporate houses and government agencies for financial aid but in vain.
Located in the 10th lane of Kamathipura, the city’s oldest and largest red light area, the bank was set up in 2007 by Population Services International (PSI), a Washington-based NGO. Their contract, which expired in December 2010, are yet to be renewed due to lack of funds.
In 2011, Delhi-based NGO India 800 became their new sponsor. They bore all the office
expenses, including paying the office rent and the staff.
At present, around 4,500 sex workers have accounts in this bank. It was the only bank that did not require them to submit numerous documents while applying for a savings account. They only needed to submit photographs and deposit as little as Rs5 in their accounts.
Chairperson of Sangini, Dr Shilpa Merchant said, “The issue we are facing now is that sex workers want to leave their job and settle in their villages, but want a loan to start a business. We can’t give them a loan because they have not deposited money for long. They withdraw the money they deposit within a week or so. We need a financial aid to start this loan system and have approached several corporate bodies, but nobody willing to help.”
Sex workers mostly lose their earnings to their pimps and touts. This left them with no savings.
Whenever they needed money, they took loans from money lenders, who charged exorbitant interest rates. So the main aim of Sangini was to help them save.
The bank has two accountants, a manager and another person to handle software. Besides 12 agents who visit brothels daily to collect their savings, there are four inter-personal coordinators who visit red light areas in the city to encourage sex workers to open savings accounts and resolve their queries regarding the bank.
Earlier, only women were allowed to open accounts. But after they received several requests from men working in red light areas in other professions, they were allowed to as well. Bank Manger Anjali Desai said, “Since January, around 200 men open accounts in this bank. They couldn’t open accounts in other banks as they don’t have the required documents.”
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