Reviving Kamathipura: India Post's Effort Towards Financial Inclusion of Sex Workers

The case is set in August 2022 and traces the transformation of the post office (PO) in Kamathipura, Mumbai. Kamathipura is one of the largest and oldest red-light districts in India. Swati Pandey, a bureaucrat working for India Post-an Indian-government-run postal service under the Ministry of Communications-was the Postmaster General (PMG) of the Mumbai region and was responsible for the over 200 POs spread across the city, including the Kamathipura PO. The commercial sex workers (CSWs) living in Kamathipura faced relentless discrimination due to the stigma around their occupation. Apart from this, most of the women residing in this area had been either forced into this profession or trafficked; therefore, many of them lacked official identity documents and did not understand financial tools. When they did approach banks and other financial institutions to get started, they were shooed away or leered at by the male staff. They had been alienated by the ecosystem of financial inclusion and excluded from it. Pandey was deeply moved by the dire social and financial circumstances of the CSWs, and wanted to transform the Kamathipura PO into a safe space for them, only find solace and support, but also gain education about financial planning.

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