Spent the public holiday watching the Bollywood movie,
“Gangubai Kathiawadi,” which
is based on the story of Ganga Harjeevandas Kathiawadi who ruled the Mumbai
red-light district in the 1950-60s. As I watched the story of this lady unfold,
it occurred to me that one of the great tragedies is the fact that we cannot
make politicians spend a day of their lives living as prostitutes before they
run for office.
The life of
this lady, as told by the Bollywood flick was fascinating. The woman had lived an
inspirational life and studying her life should be compulsory for anyone seeking
public office. The woman was no saint by any means. Let’s never forget that she
built a fortune on the backs of young women in the flesh trade. However, by the
time of her death, she had become a “revered” figure and there are statues of her
parts of Mumbai. A more detailed account of the life of Gangubai can be found
at:
Copyright – News Bytes
Where did this
woman come from and how did she become legend? Well, she was from a good middle
class family (daughter of a barrister) and she ended up being sold into a
brothel by the man she loved and trusted (How many of us have been let down by
the people we thought we could trust the most?). She was raped and physically
abused twice by a customer (the movie was shows a fairly graphic depiction of
her injuries) and let’s never forget that this happened in 1950s India (an era
and a country not known for being at the forefront of women, let alone
prostitute, rights).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmq7pICNQWM
One of the more
prominent scenes from this section of the movie comes when she’s being abused
and the madam of the brothel listens and counts the money (the “customer” is
paying double). The other girls yell “You’re our madam – you’re supposed to protect
us not just take our money.”
What you see is
a woman who has been really f*** by life (how else to you define getting f***
than by being physically abused and having everyone else think its your fault
because of the job you do)? However, instead of falling into despair, she fights
back. She finds out who the guy is and goes to his boss for justice and gets
it. She effectively becomes the new leader of the brothel she’s in and builds empire
from there.
What makes her
so successful is the fact that she’s seen to fight for “her people,” which in
this case are the other prostitutes. One of her first acts as the new madam of
the brothel is to get the girls to distribute the money that her late
predecessor has lying around. This one of the classic rules of leadership – share
the rewards. People will follow you and take care of their interest as long as
you are taking care of theirs. Let’s remember that prostitution is a business
that exhibits the worst exploitative traits in humanity (the one getting f** is
not the one making the money). Let’s remember that in India’s red-light
districts, it’s still not uncommon for girls to live in literal cages, while
the madams and other pimps live very well:
So, the fact
that the woman is willing to “share” the rewards with the ones doing the work,
makes her revolutionary. She’s the one that everyone wants to work for. In the movie,
it’s the other girls who insist that she becomes madam because “who else understands
our plight.”
Sure, the woman
lived well (was driven around) but its something that the other girls don’t
begrudge her because she “takes care” of them. Whilst other brothels in the Kamathipura
neighbourhood of Mumbai house their girls in literal cages, she houses hers in
much nicer and more civilised conditions as can be found in the following
report from outlook India:
Throughout the
movie, she states that its not just about her. It’s about the 4,000 plus girls in
the neighbourhood. She does things like find a husband for the daughters of one
the girls working for her so that the daughter does not have to follow in her
mother’s footsteps.
The best part
of the movie comes towards the end when she’s got to deal with a convent school
that’s petitioning to have her brothel shut down. Her argument is that they have
no right to throw her people out onto the streets and she promptly gets the
children of her girls enrolled into the school. She says to the principal of
the school that “even children of prostitutes” have a right to be educated and then
goes onto rightly point out that a child of a prostitute can grow up to be a doctor
or a lawyer, which should be something that the principle should not have a
complaint about. When the school kicks the kids out after beating them on the first
day of enrolment, she sees to it that the event is publicised, thus making the
convent school look bad.
While her story
is captured in a book that calls her a “Mafia Queen” and there the fact that
her rise is helped by befriending one of the “Mafia” leaders, one can say that
she’s played a role in ensuring that India’s prostitutes have significantly
more rights:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/the-dignity-of-sex-workers/cid/1834952
The secret of this woman’s success is that at every turn she is seen to be “protecting people,” especially the girls in the flesh-trade. She sacrifices her personal happiness by marrying off a girl to the man she loves so that he won’t have the stigma of being married to a prostitute and his bride will have a husband instead of having to work as a prostitute.
Sure, she built
an empire of “immoral” earnings but she took care of the people under her. Unlike
her Madam, she actually protected her girls and saw to it that they were “taken
care” of. Whilst she was no saint in the conventional sense, she was revered by
the people whom she pledged to take care of.
This is something
that politicians all round the world need to remember. They are not there to
collect money while the people get abused. They are supposed to fight for the
people to ensure that the people don’t get exploited or abused. Nobody will
begrudge a politician his or her salary as long as they can see that the
politician is fighting for them.
Think about it,
the world would be a much better place if political office holders understood
what it is like to be abused and exploited and driven by the need to ensure
that the people, they rule over never experience those abuses. The brothel
madam of 1950s Mumbai should be an example that politicians around the world
should try to emulate.
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