I recently met Ruby, a prostitute working in the hidden corners of Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Ruby had a small room, which she called home. She slept in it, washed in it and cooked in it. Her life was limited to her room and her occupation rendered her unacceptable to the polite society.
When I met her, she wasn't filled with anger or frustration, nor did she seem helpless. I asked her why- why irrespective of her occupation and circumstances, she was happy, vibrant, in fact. She said it was because she had no more obligations to fulfill, she was no more a tool of society, but just a woman, and yes, her profession may be considered an unreputed one but at least she chose it in her own will. She wasn't forced into it, it was voluntarily. She was no more a daughter, a sister or a wife, she was her, she was Ruby. She was free, free from expectation, free from obligation and though was considered a taboo, she was proud to be.
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