A Pakistani writer creates an Indian superhero to raise awareness about prostitution and sex trafficking
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It is one of Mumbai's most infamous areas. Kamathipura, the city's oldest red-light district, is now the setting for a new superhero story. Chunri, The Dancing Death, written by Baber Khan and illustrated by M Basit Ansari, both from Pakistan, is the story of a young girl, Chunri, born into prostitution, who uses Bruce Lee films to rebel.
Khan was inspired to write the story after seeing Sandra Hoyn's photographs of the Kandapara brothel in the Bangladeshi district of Tangali, and subsequent readings of stories about prostitution, which included Kamathipura. “Whenever I heard or asked sex workers about what brought them into this trade, the answers were that since they aren't educated, they can't make a decent earning and this helps them earn well. One day, a prostitute in Lahore told me that her mother was paid to bring her into this world,” he says.
Chunri is a young girl from Kamathipura who teaches herself martial arts by watching old Bruce Lee movies
Khan's superhero Chunri is a young girl born and raised in a brothel in Kamathipura. Her training on becoming an escort is interspersed with her practising martial arts that she picks up from old Bruce Lee films. One day, she accidentally kills a client and is forced to flee the brothel. “The idea was to show that when people are grief-stricken, they tend to use music, yoga, or anything else to help them find peace. She finds hers in martial arts,” says Khan.
Khan chose Kamathipura because he felt the place worked well with his story. He hasn't actually been to Mumbai, so relied on the Internet and Google Maps. The lack of familiarity with the city is glaringly obvious but Chunri is a compelling heroine you can't help rooting for. The comic, though briefly, also attempts to raise awareness about the issue of sex trafficking.
The amateur writer also tried to bring in commentary on Indo-Pak relations, but we think it's mostly unnecessary to the story.
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