In Photos: Six Women from GB Road Write Their Own Future, One Stitch at a Time

At the launch, NCW chief Rekha Sharma assured the former sex workers that they'll be given all the support needed.

Six women who were rescued from GB Road, have come together and started their own brand ‘WePower’. 

(Ashna Butani/The Quint) 

When she was 15 years old, she was told that she would get a stitching job in an export factory in Delhi but she never did. Instead, she was 'sold' in Delhi’s red-light area, GB Road, where she spent the next 30 years of her life. Up until a year ago, she wanted to leave but could not.  

In 2022, however, with support from NGOs Savera and Shakti Vahini, and the hope of creating a better future for herself, she left the job.  

Today, the woman, aged 45, stitches tote bags and makes earrings for a living. Six such women -- all survivors of sex trafficking, were rescued from GB Road, and have now come together to start their own brand ‘WePower’.  

The Quint speaks to the women about the rescue and rehabilitation.  

The 45-year-old woman, originally from Andhra Pradesh, was scared when she was first approached by the NGOs around four years ago. She said, “A lot of people make promises to us... But we cannot wake up one day and decide that we want to leave."

The Quint met her on 1 March at her office, along with five other women. She said, "To get out, I knew that we would need a place to stay, and enough money to pay rent. I wondered how that would be possible.”

Over the last two years, she was associated with NGO Savera, where she was a part of the awareness program on HIV. Eventually, she found out that she could take up a job where she would stitch bags and earn Rs 20,000 a month. 

Even though she was not confident about stitching, she knew this was her only way out.  

The woman said, “I did not even know how to hold a pair of scissors. Since September 2022, we had been learning how to stitch. Eventually, we picked up the skill.” She now stays in a rented apartment and travels by metro to work every day.  

Another woman, aged 46, also from Andhra Pradesh, spoke about how she got out of GB Road. She said, “My husband was an alcoholic and I had to sustain the household all by myself. That is when someone told me about a job in Delhi that would pay Rs 50,000, I decided to come here. But once I came here, I was not allowed to leave. I barely made any money either. Whatever we got went into paying for electricity and food.” 

Around Diwali last year, she had decided to leave with help from the NGOs. She said, “Those at the brothel were telling me not to leave. Everyone was saying that I might have to come back for want of better options. But I decided to leave... and I am here today.”  

A woman said, “Earlier, our days would not end. We would wake up at any time of the day, stay up all night, depending on the work. We would barely get any sleep. But now, we have a fixed routine: I wake up at 5 am, make tea, cook food and clean the house. Then I leave home by metro and come to the studio. I work from 10 am to 6 pm every day.” The women make close to 50 tote bags a day and a few earrings as and when they can.  

At their workspace, Khushboo Kumari, a young woman with a degree in fashion, helps the women with their designs, while another woman works as the team manager.

Tamanna Khan, who manages the team, said, “While managing the team, it is important to understand them and their journeys. The women take years to overcome the trauma."

The women say that they still shudder when someone mentions ‘GB Road’. With pride, one of the women said, "I take the metro and travel by myself. I also know how to use online payments now. Earlier, I was scared to step out and take even a few steps by myself." 

At the launch of the product at the National Commission for Women (NCW) office, Rekha Sharma, the commission chairperson, assured the women that they will be given all the support needed for rescue as well as rehabilitation. Six other women present at the launch, who also want to leave the profession, volunteered to join ‘WePower’. At present, there are six women but more will be trained and inducted soon, said Rishi Kant from NGO Shakti Vahini.