२०८०७२८ गते उदयपुर गाइघाटमा दिउँसो १२ बजे तिर अलिकति तनाव भएर घरबाट निस्केर घुम्न जाँदा हामी सेक्स वर्करको समुदाय पनि यसरी नै बन्दी सरी बसेका हुन्छाै‌ । किनभने यो कानुनमा छैन । यदि कानुन भएको भए खुलेर हि‍ड्न सक्थ्यौ । यसरी बन्देजमा बस्न पर्दैन थियो । हामी पनि मानव हौ‌ तर खुलेर हि‍ड्ने वातावरण छैन । आफ्नो जीवन आफ्नो अधिकार हो तर कानुनी मान्यता नभएको कारण पिन्जडामा कैद भएजस्तै बस्नु परेको छ । यदि यौनपेसालाइ कानुनी मान्यता भएको भए रमाएर खुलेर हि‍ड्न सक्थे‌ जस्तो लाग्छ ।

I was at my home in Udaypur Gaighat on November 14, 2023. Around 12 pm, I left my home for a stroll and came across this scene and took its photograph. Us sex workers are also living the life of prisoners within a community, just like these animals. Sex work isn’t legal. Had it been legalised, we could also have lived openly. We didn’t have to live enclosed in cages. We are also humans, but we can’t live openly. We are supposed to have our say and a decision on our own lives, but we are having to live a caged life. I feel that if sex work had been legal, I could enjoy and live my life to fullest.

निल्यादै मुस्कुरादै यस झ्याललाई हेर्दै थिए आज मिती २०८०-१०-१ सोमबार  करिब बिहानको ११:१२ हुन्दै थियो । यो कुनै झ्याल मात्रै होइन सायद हेर्दा पुरानो घर या भनु झिर्न अवस्थाको घरको झ्याल 🙂🙂🙂🙂 मन्दमुस्कानमा यि कुरा हेर्दै गर्दा पुरानो दिनहरु ताजा हुन्दै थिए।यो झ्यालमा कति मिठा याद जोडिएका छन । कुनै समय     टिभी हेर्नको लागि घर देखि केहि टाढा जानु  पर्थ्यो त्यो बेलामा नेपाल टेलिभिजन मात्र प्रशारण हुन्थ्यो र टिभी पनि कम घरमा मात्र  हुन्थ्यो त्यो समयमा  हामी साना साना थियौ टिभी हेर्नको लागि शुक्रबार आउनु पर्थ्यो त्यो समयमा रातको ११:०० नेपाली फिल्म आउने घरमा टिभी नभएको कारण हामी साथीहरु १०, १२ जान मिलेर साझको ६:०० खाना खाएर एकअर्कामा छलफल गरेर टिभी हेर्न योजना बनाउथ्यौ किन हजुरबुबा हजुरआमा रिसाउने हुन्थ्यो र गाली गर्नु हुन्थ्यो त्यस कारण लुकि लुकि घरबाट भागेर टिभी हेर्न जान्थ्यौ जब हामी टिभी हेर्न गाको कुरा उहाँहरुलाई थाहा हुन्थ्यो तब ढोका बन्द गरेर उहाँहरु सुत्नु हुन्थ्यो । र हामीहरु जब घर आउथ्यौ ढोका बन्द हुने गर्थ्यौ । माथिल्लो जानको लागि डोको गोप्टो पारेर बिस्तारै  यो झ्यालमा चडेर सुत्न जान्थ्यौ यो कुरा भन्दै जादा सानो बेलाको अवस्था र अहिले को अवस्था उस्ता उस्तै छ आफ्नो इच्छा रहर अधिकार पुरा गर्नको लागि लुकि लुकि हेर्नु पर्ने अरुले गालि गलोज गर्छ कि भनेर विभिन्न योजना बनाइ लुकिलुकि गर्नु अवस्था छ हाम्रो उदेश्य टिभी जस्तै भएको छ उदाहरणको लागि लक्ष्य टिभी हेर्ने थियो तर त्यो हेर्नको लागि गरेको गर्नु पर्ने भोगाइहरु यस्तै छन आफ्नो अधिकार पाउन गर्न बाकि छन।। अहिले सम्म ढोकाहरु बन्द छन ।।

झ्याल त मध्यम मात्र बनिसकेको छ।।

I was looking at this window on the morning of January 15, 2024, around 11:12 AM. This is not only any window. It may look like a window of an old house, rather a window of dilapidated house. Memories of old days came back flooding to me with this window. So many memories are associated with this. A long time ago, we needed to go to our neighbour’s house nearby just to watch some television and the only channel that came was the state-owned Nepal Television and only few homes had tv. We were small, and we used to wait until Friday to watch televsion. At the time, a Nepali film would be shown at 11:00 pm every Friday and I used to make plans with my friends to go watch tv at friends’ house after having dinner. My grandparents used to be angry at me and scold me, so I used to go to my friend’s house to watch tv without telling them. They would sleep with doors closed after we went to our friend’s house to watch tv. Doors would be closed after we returned, so, we used to climb through this window to go inside the house. While reminiscing about the times when I was young, I can say my situation now is no different than that time. I need to hide in order to fulfill my wishes and desires. I need to hide my profession to be safe from society’s stigmatizations. At that time, our aim used to be watching television, but we needed to suffer a lot for the same. At present as well, I need to do a lot and suffer to attain our rights. The doors are closed till now. However, there are some windows open that will be the means to our fight.

करिब १ बजेतिर म आफ्नो घरको बाटो हि‌ड्दै थिएँ तब मेरो आँखा घाँसमा फूली रहेको फूल जस्तै कता कता कपास जस्तै पनि देखिने फूलमा पर्यो । जब जब हावा चल्थ्यो त्यो कपास जस्तो फूल फुर फुर उडेर जान्थ्यो । यो देख्दा एकदम सुन्दर देखिन्थ्यो । मैले पनि एउटा हाँगा भाँचेर आफ्नो बुढी अौ‌ला र माईली अौ‌लाले समातेर त्यस कपास जस्तो फूललाई उडाउन बिस्तारै मुखले फुकेर हावा दिन थाले‌ । यस्तो गर्दा कुनै फूल उडेपनि कुनै फूल त्यही हाँगामा जोडिएर रहे । यो देख्दा हाम्रो जीवनमा आउने चुनौतीहरु देखेझै‌ लाग्यो । उडे तापनि आधा भाग त्यही हाँगामा जोडिएर बस्दछ । जस्तै हाम्रो समाजऽ परिवार र राज्य ।

One day, around 1 pm in the afternoon, I was returning home. On the way, I saw a flower that resembled cotton in the bed of grass. Whenever the wind blew, the cotton flower blew away. It looked very beautiful. I also plucked one of the flowers and caught it in between my fingers and started to blow into the flower. While doing so, a few of the flower’s buds flew away from the stem, but a few remained intact on the stem itself. I could relate this to the challenges that arise in our lives. While some go away, many others remain, for example, our society, families and state.

२०८००६२७ गते म गोकर्ण घुम्न गएको थिएँ । गोकर्णको हिमाल तलको बस्तीहरुमा एक ठाउँमा धान काटेर खाली रहेको खेत थियो । अर्को स्थानमा अलि अलि घरहरुको बस्ती थियो । तेसमाथि अग्ला अग्ला हिमालहरु थिए । हिमाल माथि निलो आकाश थियो । निलो आकाशमा सेता बादलहरु उडिरहेका थिए । यो बादल female sex worker हरुको समुदाय र तिनीसँग जोडिएका मुद्दा हो। हाम्रो मुद्दालाइ घरसमाज स्थानीय तह प्रदेश तह र राष्ट्रिय तहदेखी टाढा बनाइएको छ । खेतबस्ती छुट्टै छन् तर हिमालको टुप्पाले बादललाइ छुन खोजेको जस्तो देखिन्छ । हाम्रो मुद्दालाइ महिलाअधिकारकर्मी बुझ्न खोजेका छन् सहयोग पनि गरेका छन् हामीसँग भेटेर कुराकानी गर्न थालेका छन् र हाम्रो समुदायसँग समन्वय गरेर समेटेर लैजान खोजेका छन् । तिनीहरु हिमालको टुप्पा हुन् । स्थानीय तह राष्ट्रिय तह प्रदेश तह भने चुपचाप बस्ने यौन पेसा राम्रो होइन भनी अपराधीकरण गरिरहेको छ ।

हाम्रो यौनपेसा कुनै अपराध होइन  र हामीलाइ घरपरिवार समाज राज्यले टाढा राख्न kk चाहेपनि  हामी बादलसरी उडी हाम्रा सहयोगी मित्र अभियन्तासँग हातेमालो गरेर एक दिन हाम्रो मुद्दाको गन्तव्यमा पुग्न सक्नेछाै‌ ।

Although the picture might show you the scenes of a village, mountains with clouds above, there is a hidden story somewhere.

I went to visit Gokarna on October 14, 2023. In the settlements below the mountains of Gokarna, there was an empty field in one place after the harvest of the paddy. In another place, there was a small settlement of houses. There were high mountains on top of it. There was a blue sky above the mountain. White clouds were floating in the blue sky. These clouds represent the community of female sex workers and their associated issues. Our issues have been kept away from society, the local level, the provincial level and the national level. The fields are separate; however, the top of the mountain seems to be trying to touch the clouds. Women’s rights activists have tried to understand our issues, helped us and have also started talking to us and have tried to integrate our community in their movement. They represent the top of the mountains. The local level, the national level and the provincial level, however, has been criminalizing the sex work forcing us to stay quiet. Our sex work is not a crime and even if the state wants to keep us away from society, we will be able to reach the destination of our movement one day by joining hands with our fellow friends and activists.