Angels do die, covered in white!

A goofy discussion with my parents regarding the Indian politics that unknowingly drifted away to a talk on child trafficking and prostitution, my accidental observation of the trailer of Nagesh Kukunoor's upcoming movie, Lakshmi (which is made along the same lines of the discussion we had today) and finally, the inadvertent playing of Ed Sheeran's 'The A Team' on my playlist made me preoccupied with the thoughts about thousands of women who succumbed to the abominable game of fate.

I was meaning to publish a post from a couple of days and had some stupid ideas that I didn't really feel like writing about. And today, something urged me to write about these angels who hope for a better life if they ever have something called 'Next time'.

It is not just our very own city, state or the country, there are millions of girls out there, in every part of the Earth, known by different names. Here in India, it is more of girl children being trafficked and sold into prostitution and sex trade. In some other countries, they're the homeless women who sell themselves for their livelihood. Many of them are even into drugs.

The conversation also let me in on something that is similar to the situations I wrote above. And this situation is actually not new. It's been there right here from ages, may be even from the reign of kings. They're poor harlots somewhere else. And here. They are the destitute women who never had a man to support their family turned towards this disrespected profession as they're left with no choice. And they've taken it up as a family business like any other occupations like Goldsmiths, Farmers, etc.  There are streets in almost every city and town where these women live and sell themselves for earning their bread. I was shocked to find out today that, even a tiny village like mine had one such street which is no more to be seen.

I am not writing to give out the statistics or write long stories that mean nothing, but just vent out my disappointment on how people treat them. I wouldn't just point a finger on something I know nothing about. But even a little bit of empathy, I can't even think for a minute putting their shoes on. It's just horrifying.

Is this something they really wanted to get into? I mean, this isn't any fancy job that one would dream of. Call it their ill luck, fate or destiny that dragged them down into this pit and chained them down in such a way that there is no escape. But nothing stops them from hoping to get out of it one day even it is highly difficult. Many NGOs and Volunteers try rescuing women out of this hell hole, but are they getting enough respect? Why discriminate someone for something they didn't voluntarily get into?

May be I am wrong, maybe there is someone who proves me wrong, but I cannot think of a woman who sacrifices it all just to experience the inferno. The lyrics of 'The A Team' will never let me think so. People who might have heard it can relate to my thoughts about this but for those who didn't, here are the lines -

White lips, pale face

Breathing in snowflakes

Burnt lungs, sour taste

Light's gone, day's end

Struggling to pay rent

Long nights, strange men

And they say

She's in the Class A Team

Stuck in her daydream

Been this way since eighteen

But lately her face seems

Slowly sinking, wasting

Crumbling like pastries

And they scream

The worst things in life come free to us

Cause we're just under the upper hand

And go mad for a couple grams

And she don't want to go outside tonight

And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland

Or sells love to another man

It's too cold outside

For angels to fly

Angels to fly

Even though Ed Sheeran wrote it about a Homeless Drug addict who turns a hooker, I can see the lives of many people forced into or got into such activities in these words. It is the way their life is! Never judge a woman for what you see in her. Look for what she really is. And no matter what utter disrespectful profession she is in, at least give her some respect.