More than 1,500 sex workers are based at the Daulatdia brothel, about 100 km (60 miles) west of Dhaka, which is one of about 12 officially sanctioned brothels in the South Asian country, and receives an estimated 5,000 customers every day. Now many of us have to take loans to not stay hungry," said Kalpona, a 30-year-old sex worker, who has been living in the brothel for nearly two decades. Charities say many sex workers are underage. Ataur Rahman Manju, coordinator of the rights group Mukti Mahila Samity that supports sex workers, said most sex workers live hand-to-mouth existences, with only about one in nine having the ability to save up and feed themselves. While government aid was promised, Kalpona was unsure it was going to help them in the long term.

Source: bd News24 March 24, 2020 06:45 UTC