Autobiography of a Sex Worker

Book excerpt: Sex workers are free in four respects: we don't have to cook for a husband; we don't have to wash his dirty clothes; we don't have to ask for his permission to raise our kids as we deem fit; we don't have to run after a husband claiming rights to his property.? Fiery, outspoken and often wickedly funny, this candid account of one woman's life as a sex worker in Kerala became a bestseller when it was first published in Malayalam. Nalini Jameela, who takes her name from both Hindu and Muslim traditions, worked as a child in the clay mines. She has been a wife, mother, successful business woman and social activist ? as well as a sex worker ? at different stages of her life. This is Nalini Jameela's story, told in her inimitably honest and down- to-earth style, of her search for dignity, empowerment and freedom on her own terms.