This paper delves into the workplace struggles of formerly incarcerated women, exploring how past convictions and intersecting stigmas (gender, caste, class) shape their experiences.

The state of West Bengal has a population of 9.03 crores of which 19.98 percent live below the poverty line.

Miss Easther, a social worker, and I visited Sonagachi, one of the largest and oldest red light areas in Calcutta, in June '98.

The high female infant mortality rates (Miller, 1985); the practice of female infanticide (Krishnaswamy, 1988); the neglect of female children with regard to access to health services, nutrition, (Sen and Sengupta, 1983 and education (Mankekar, 1985); and the sexual abuse of girls (Bhalerao, 1985