The lockdown for sexually exploited women in Mumbai

India’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown was one of the strictest in the world, leaving millions of people surviving in the informal economy left to fend for themselves. The added consequences of the pandemic were hunger and need for thousands of people, such as the sexually exploited women in the Kamathipura neighborhood (Bombay).

In one of the largest “red light neighborhoods” in Asia and the world, many personal stories were lived that were submerged in the midst of the chaos caused by the pandemic. Now, some of these stories see the light of the hand of filmmakers Abeer Khan and Kunal Purohit, in a production for Collateral Global with the collaboration of Mumbai Smiles.

The video brings us the testimonies of six sexually exploited women and those of their families, and shows us how confinement affected their lives and how it has changed them since then.

Abeer Khan is a filmmaker and photographer based in Mumbai..

Kunal Purohit: is a renowned freelance journalist who writes on social and human interest issues.

Original version of Collateral Global available at: https://youtu.be/D_dk0qE6_-Q

Music in the video:

Song: The Three Elements. Artist: I Think I Can Help You. Album: The Three Elements Licensed to YouTube by YouTube Audio Library.

Song: NightMusic. Artist: Kevin Macleod. Album: NightMusic. Licensed to YouTube by YouTube Audio Library.

Song: Anguish. Artist: Kevin Macleod. Album: Anguish Licensed to YouTube by YouTube Audio Library.