Sex workers walk ramp in West Bengal

Siliguri, Mar 8 (ANI): Celebrating the International Women's Day, the sex workers in Siliguri walked the ramp on Sunday.

These women wanted to mark the occasion by raising their voices against the social curse on them.

These women reiterated the fact that poverty has compelled them to take up this profession and society should not ridicule them.

The North Bengal Art Academy, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) staged the fashion show wherein girls clad in colourful saris and bedecked in jewellery walked the ramp.

A couple of the participants expressed their fear of walking the ramp and also narrated their story of their dreams.

"For the first time in my life, I participated in a dance show when I was in college. At that time I was not scared because my relatives, friends, principal and teachers were there with me. But I was a bit nervous here because I am alone and there's nobody here," said Swapna Patwardhan, a sex worker.

On its part, the host NGO awarded the participants after the show.

One of the volunteers of North Bengal Art Academy mentioned that the show was organised to depict the inner identity of the sex workers.

"The objective behind this fashion show is to show the inner beauty of these women on the International Women's Day. Many among them have an aspiration to be film artistes and models, and accordingly we groomed them for this his fashion show," said Shomesh Ghosh, office bearer of North Bengal Art Academy, Siliguri. (ANI)