Known officially as Swami Shradhanand Marg, GB Road is one of India’s most known red light areas. During the day, it operates as a market with hardware shops and vehicle parts stores. At night, the same buildings house brothels.
Above the shops are small rooms where many sex workers live and work. The area is known not for glamour, but for its size, history, and the number of women who live there.
In 2022, journalist Vartika Nanda spent time inside these rooms, speaking to women about their lives. She found spaces that were crowded, poorly lit, and often without windows. Some rooms had space only for a bed. Many women had lived there for years, and some for most of their lives.
Swati, originally from Maharashtra, was brought to Delhi after being promised work and marriage. Instead, she was sold and moved between cities before being brought to GB Road. Others, like Pooja, raised children inside brothels while trying to manage work and caregiving. With support from police and social workers, Pooja later left GB Road and began living independently.
Not all women are able to leave. Some remain due to lack of money, family pressure, or fear of rejection outside.
Under Indian law, consensual adult sex work is legal, but brothel keeping, soliciting, and trafficking are crimes. In 2022, the Supreme Court of India stated that sex workers must be treated with dignity. However, many continue to face unsafe living conditions and social exclusion.
The name of the road has changed. The lives of many women there have not.
