Where Is ‘Trafficking’ in the Anti-Trafficking Law? a Study of Bedia Sex Workers of India on the Juncture of Sexual Morality and Feminist Agency

Centuries ago, White merchants and explorers entered India for trading and gradually amalgamated Capitalism with hegemonic authoritarian rule by imposing colonial laws. This dehumanising process could be easily traced by understanding the epochs of the sex work industry. In India, a unique blanket of discrimination envelops the postcolonial society, i.e., the Caste System. Bedia is one such caste from the Bundelkhand region of Central India, where the women are socio-culturally assigned to solicit the upper-caste men. Therefore, the multi-folds of Caste, Coloniality, and Sexuality paint over the feminist agency of the prostitutes or the female sex workers (FSWs) with different interpretations such as sexually exploited and abused; sexually immoral and malevolent; forced and trafficked.

Unlike most academic studies that focus on the moral implications of the sex work industry, this paper discusses the human rights, feminist agency, and autonomy of FSWs. The methodology employs Critical Discourse Analysis of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act-1956 (ITPA) to understand the colonial origins of the legal approach to sex work. Additionally, a Case Study of a legal petition filed by Bedia women provides insight into reclaiming their agency. The paper is structured into two key sections: first, an analysis of the colonial influence on Indian law reveals how the current problematic institutionalisation of sex work emerged. Second, a case study of Bedia FSWs locates their feminist agency despite dominant morality. In conclusion, this research paper brings into the limelight how the jargon used in ITPA shapes the feminist agency of Bedia women. It further illuminates how law, gender, and power interact to erase marginalised women's autonomy. Examining the Bedia community offers a lens to reconceptualise sex work beyond colonial moral frameworks.