Geetanjali’s Life Story: “Everybody Made Me a ‘Bad’ Girl”

Geetanjali was born into a middle-class, high-caste Hindu family and received a high school education, but growing up without a father figure exposed her and her siblings to exploitation and violence. She faced multiple interrelated risks and sources of stigma stemming from having dark skin, being raised by a single mother, incest, gang rape, separating from her abusive husband, and becoming a single mother herself. Geetanjali attempted to support her family by working in the informal job sector, but was bullied and sexually harassed. Geetanjali demonstrates emotional strength and agency in choosing independent sex work as a safer and more lucrative alternative. Her story suggests that research focusing on “caste” alone fails to elucidate the lived experiences of women, which are shaped by the intersections of caste, class, marital status, physical appearance, education, age, and other social identities. Other important findings include the reality of women inflicting violence on each other and the ways in which the whorephobia embedded in the national psyche makes it almost impossible for women to maintain a “good girl” image or avoid sexual harassment while pursuing a career in the informal job sector.