LIVES REMADE ON THE CATWALK
Shweta Katti was a child when she was abused by clients at the brothel in which she was forced to live, but a charity gave her a new lease on life, writes Foreign Correspondent Rebecca Bundhun
Indian NGO rescues girls from Mumbai red-light district and gives them a shot at modelling,
MUMBAI // Shweta Katti grew up as a victim of sexual abuse in a brothel in the Kamathipura red light district of Mumbai.
Glamorous fashion shows were beyond her imagination.
But tonight, Shweta, 22, will take to the catwalk, modelling for designer Mandeep Nagi at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.
The event is one of the biggest on India’s fashion calendar, attended by Bollywood celebrities and leading fashionistas.
Shweta is one of eight women, aged between 18 and 22, who have been rescued from Mumbai’s red light areas and taken to the catwalk by Kranti, a non-government organisation.
“I can’t wait to be on the ramp. I think it’s interesting that they are welcoming people from different communities in the fashion show and hopefully that will help to change the perspec- tive.” Shweta’s grandmother was forced to work as a maid in a brothel because her husband, an alcoholic and drug addict, sold all they had.
And although Shweta’s mother worked in a factory, they continued to live with sex workers Shweta says she was as young as 6 or 7 when their clients began abusing her. She was 17 when she heard about Kranti and sought help.
Kranti, which means “revolution” in Hindi, was founded by Robin Chaurasiya six years ago.
Although her family is from India, she was born and grew up in the United States and served as a lieutenant in the air force before moving to Mumbai to start the charity. The organisation provides housing, therapy and education to women and girls who are the daughters of sex workers or have been trafficked into sex work as children. In some cases, their mothers have died after contracting HIV. The idea of the fashion show came about when Ms Chaurasiya met Mandeep Nagi through a mutual friend.
Together, they hit on the notion that turning the women into models would be the perfect way to boost their confidence and highlight Kranti’s cause. Some of the women were apprehensive. “Then they met Mandeep and they got the idea of what it was going to be and about Mandeep’s clothing line, and then they got really, really excited,” says Ms Chaurasiya, 31. “They’ve been having a blast rehearsing. It’s been hard work.” Some of the women got some curious looks at rehearsals because they do not have typical model looks – they are not all tall and fair-skinned, aesthetics perceived as more beautiful in India. The Kranti women are darkskinned. Some have scars from the physical abuse they suffered or from self-harm.
One of the women participating in the show was trafficked into sex work at the age of 9 and has suffered mental health problems because of her difficult childhood. “They’re a bit of a misfit in the whole crowd but they are really enjoying interacting with different people and talking to the models,” says Ms Chaurasiya. As well as boosting their self- esteem, Ms Chaurasiya hopes to show there is more to women than their skin tone.
“There is a lot of stigma. You don’t see dark-skinned girls as models and in advertising,” she says.
This is not the first time that Ms Nagi, who is the design director at textile label Shades of India, has given underprivileged women the chance to bask in the limelight wearing her designs. Last year, she recruited a housemaid from her neighbourhood to model her collection in a photo shoot.
“I don’t guarantee any major changes, but what I do want is to contribute to opening the doors,” she said. “I’m hoping it will be an opportunity for Kranti to reach out to the maximum number of people.
That’s the outcome I’m looking forward to. I don’t care how I benefit or if sales go up.”
The women will model a fusion of Indian and western styles in a summer collection made of handwoven fabrics and hand embroidered in vintage designs.
A key theme of Lakme Fashion Week this season is diversity and inclusion, so among those strutting the catwalk will be Anjali Lama, a transgender model from Nepal. Mohammad Ansari, an embroidery artisan from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, has also teamed up with fashion designer Jay Ramrakhiani to show his work at the event.
Although she can’t wait to get on stage, Shweta says she has no desire to enter the fashion industry.
After studying psychology for two years in New York and social entrepreneurship at Watson University in Colorado – opportunities made possible by support from Kranti – her ambition now is to establish a cafe and community centre as a retreat for sex workers and children, where they can take part in educational activities to help them escape the Kamathipura red light district, as she has.