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| A hand-to-mouth existence! | | Mumbai's bar dancers face miserable situation | | NEW DELHI, DEC 2
The sad tale of bar dancers in India's commercial capital, Mumbai, has generated heat once again. Ever since RR Patil, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, took the controversial decision of shutting down dance bars on moral grounds last August, the plight of bar dancers has plummeted to miserable levels of deprivation, a new study has revealed.
If abject poverty drove illiterate young women to dance in bars to earn their livelihood, the Minister's stubborn stand on closing down dance bars has once again dragged them into poverty, according to the report. During the last 14 months since the ban, these women have been living a hand to mouth existence, says a joint study 'After the Ban: Women Working in Dance Bars' conducted by the SNDT University and Forum Against Oppression of Women.
Children who were once being educated in good schools are being pulled out since their bar dancer mothers can no longer afford their education. One bar dancer was quoted as saying: "My son was in a boarding school in Panchgani (a hill station renowned for its schools). I had spent Rs40,000 on his education. I have brought him back as I can't afford it now". Another said: "I educated one of my sisters and she is a police officer now. She doesn't support me at all. She says I should not be visible as a dancer as she might lose her job".
And yet there are others who, having spent most of their savings and sold their jewellery and even homes, complain how difficult it is now to take care of their ailing parents or even eat healthy food these days. A few have even attempted suicide. Most have returned to their familiar spaces to work as waitresses or stand in the orchestra while the music is played.
Dr Veena Poonacha, Director of the Research Centre for Women's Studies has been quoted as saying: "Of the 80 women interviewed for our study, only 22 women were able to survive with what they were managing to earn after the ban". |
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