Sonagachi Project
   HOME



picture info

Sonagachi Project
Sonagachi is a neighbourhood in Kolkata, India, located in North Kolkata near the intersection of Jatindra Mohan Avenue (north of C.R. Avenue) with Beadon Street and Sovabazar, about one kilometer north of the Marble Palace area. Sonagachi is among the largest red-light districts in Asia and the world with several hundred multi-storey brothels residing more than 16,000 commercial sex workers. Etymology In Bengali, ''Sona Gachi'' means 'Tree of Gold'. According to legend, during the early days of Calcutta the area was the den of a notorious dacoit by the name of Sanaullah, who lived here with his mother. On his death, the grieving woman is said to have heard a voice coming from their hut, saying, "Mother, don't cry. I have become a Gazi", and so the legend of Sona Gazi started. The mother built a mosque in memory of her son, although it fell into disrepair. The Sona Gazi was converted into Sonagachi. Red-light district Current situation Several NGOs and government organization ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




WikiProject Indian Cities
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is an affinity group for contributors with shared goals within the Wikimedia movement. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within Wikimedia project, sibling projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outsi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bengali Language
Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is native to the Bengal region (Bangladesh, India's West Bengal and Tripura) of South Asia. With over 242 million native speakers and another 43 million as second language speakers as of 2025, Bengali is the List of languages by number of native speakers, sixth most spoken native language and the List of languages by total number of speakers, seventh most spoken language by the total number of speakers in the world. Bengali is the Official language, official, National language, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh, with 98% of Bangladeshis using Bengali as their first language. It is the second-most widely spoken scheduled languages of India, language in India. It is the official language of the Indian states of West ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Prostitute
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, Non-penetrative sex#Manual sex, manual sex, oral sex, etc.) with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates #Medical situation, the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in the field is usually called a prostitute or ''sex worker'', but other words, such as hooker and whore, are sometimes used Pejorative, pejoratively to refer to those who work in prostitution. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients. Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms, and prostitution law, i ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Smarajit Jana
Smarajit Jana (21 July 1952 to 8 May 2021) was a public health scientist of the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata. He is notable for his work for the rights of sex workers in Sonagachi. He was an epidemiologist and member of the Indian National Task Force on COVID-19 but ironically died due to Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm .... Early life and education Jana was a medical doctor and completed his MBBS in 1978 from Calcutta University. He completed his post graduate course on Tropical Medicine and Health from STM, Calcutta between 1981 and 82. He also did his M.D. in Social and Preventive Medicine at AIIH & PH, Calcutta University. He also did courses in epidemiology and health system development in School of Hygiene and Publi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee
The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee ( ''Durbar Mohila Shômonbôe Shomiti'' "Unstoppable Women's Synthesis Committee"), or simply Durbar, is a collective of 60,000 sex workers in West Bengal. Established on 15 February 1992, in Sonagachi, the largest red-light district in Kolkata, West Bengal, India with estimated 11,000 sex workers, Durbar has been working on women's rights and sex workers' rights advocacy, anti-human trafficking and HIV/AIDS prevention. The Durbar states that its aims are the challenging and altering of the barriers that form the everyday reality of sex workers' lives as they relate to their poverty or their ostracism. Durbar runs 51 free clinics for sex workers across West Bengal, with support from organisations such as the Ford Foundation and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), who also help Durbar in its initiatives like networking, rights protection and creating alternative livelihood for sex workers. The group is overtly political in its a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condoms, also called male condoms, and Internal condom, internal (female) condoms. The external condom is rolled onto an erect penis before intercourse and works by forming a physical barrier which limits skin-to-skin contact, exposure to Bodily Fluids, fluids, and blocks semen from entering the body of a sexual partner. External condoms are typically made from latex and, less commonly, from polyurethane, polyisoprene, or lamb intestine. External condoms have the advantages of ease of use, ease of access, and few side effects. Individuals with latex allergy should use condoms made from a material other than latex, such as polyurethane. Internal condoms are typically made from polyurethane and may be used multiple times. With proper use—and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Human Trafficking In India
In 2010, Human trafficking in India, although illegal under Indian law, remained a significant problem. People were frequently illegally trafficked through India for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced/bonded labour. Although no reliable study of forced and bonded labour was completed, NGOs estimated this problem affected 20 to 65 million Indians. Men, women and children were trafficked in India for diverse reasons. Women and girls were trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage, especially in those areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favour of men. Men and boys were trafficked for the purposes of labour, and may be sexually exploited by traffickers to serve as gigolos, massage experts, escorts, etc. A significant portion of children are subjected to forced labour as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrori ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sanlaap
Sanlaap is an Indian feminist non-governmental organisation, established by Indrani Sinha in 1987 in Calcutta. Based in Calcutta, the group aims to protect the human rights of women and girls. Sanlaap is a developmental organisation that works towards correction of social imbalances which present themselves as gender injustice and violence against women and children. The primary work is focused against Trafficking in human beings, trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and forced prostitution. As part of its work, the group starts shops to train girls to make a living and foster their independence. History In 1987 a group of researchers and teachers decided to work for the rights of women and female children. In 1989–90, a study of sexually abused females in Calcutta and its suburbs revealed that girls who were sexually abused when they came in search of work as domestic help and in other forms of employment, often ended up in re ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, preventable disease. It can be managed with treatment and become a manageable chronic health condition. While there is no cure or vaccine for HIV, Management of HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease, and if used before significant disease progression, can extend the life expectancy of someone living with HIV to a nearly standard level. An HIV-positive person on treatment can expect to live a normal life, and die with the virus, not of it. Effective #Treatment, treatment for HIV-positive people (people living with HIV) involves a life-long regimen of medicine to suppress the virus, making the viral load undetectable. Treatment is recommended as soon as the diagnosis is made. An HIV-positive person who has an ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sexually Transmitted Diseases
A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral sex, or sometimes manual sex. STIs often do not initially cause symptoms, which results in a risk of transmitting them to others. The term ''sexually transmitted infection'' is generally preferred over ''sexually transmitted disease'' or ''venereal disease'', as it includes cases with no symptomatic disease. Symptoms and signs of STIs may include vaginal discharge, penile discharge, ulcers on or around the genitals, and pelvic pain. Some STIs can cause infertility. Bacterial STIs include chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Viral STIs include genital warts, genital herpes, and HIV/AIDS. Parasitic STIs include trichomoniasis. Most STIs are treatable and curable; of the most common infections, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichom ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Red Light District
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particularly associated with female street prostitution, though in some cities, these areas may coincide with spaces of male prostitution and gay venues. Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts. Origins of the term Red-light districts are mentioned in the 1882 minutes of a Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting in the United States. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' records the earliest known appearance of the term "red light district" in print as an 1894 article from the '' Sandusky Register'', a newspaper in Sandusky, Ohio. Author Paul Wellman suggests that this and other terms associated with the American Old West originated in Dodge City, Kansas, home to a well-know ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]