Maharashtra SIR: Sex workers’ groups seek relief for voters lacking family documents

4 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 13, 2026 06:03 PM IST

The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra began on June 30. (File photo for representational purpose)

With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls currently underway in Maharashtra, organisations working with sex workers say hundreds of women and their children could struggle to prove family links required during voter verification.

Drawing attention to the difficulties faced by sex workers and their children in the ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls, Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanghatana Director Meena Seshu, said, “Their (children of sex workers) mothers have adopted new names when they left their homes and over the years have passed away. They gave their children names that can only be traced to the name on their death certificates or school leaving certificates.”

“They have grown up without access to family records, parental documentation, or information about their biological relatives. Many have lost their parents, been abandoned, and raised in community settings. Requiring parental linkage or family tracing as a condition for inclusion in the electoral roll places these citizens at a significant disadvantage and risks excluding eligible voters through no fault of their own,” Seshu, who has fostered children of HIV-positive sex workers, told The Indian Express.

She suggested that special consideration be made for children of sex workers and orphans whose family connections cannot be established.

“The right to vote must not depend on the ability to produce family histories that are unavailable or impossible to trace,” Seshu added.

The Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanghatana, which is a part of the National Network of Sex Workers, has appealed to Maharashtra chief electoral officer S Chockalingam to set up a grievance redressal mechanism for such vulnerable voters and ensure sensitisation training for election officials and Booth Level Officers.

Renuka Kale, President, National Network of Sex Workers, explained that many women engaged in sex work may have lived away from their families for years, and so there was a need for alternative pathways for verification, including acceptance of existing government-issued identity documents, educational records, residence certificates, and certifications from recognised NGOs or community organizations.

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In their recent letter to the Maharashtra chief electoral officer, the organisation stated, “They (marginalized people) face numerous barriers in obtaining and updating identity and residence documents. A large number of them are migrants, reside in informal settlements, frequently change their place of residence due to eviction or social stigma, or do not possess documents establishing their residence and family relationships because many have no contact or relationship with their families. Consequently, it becomes difficult for them to fulfil the documentation and verification requirements under the SIR process.”

The National Network of Sex Workers has flagged concern that there was a risk that eligible voters, particularly women engaged in sex work and their adult children, may be excluded from the electoral roll despite being Indian citizens.

The National Network of Sex Workers has also referred to a slew of landmark judgments issued by the Supreme Court in matters related to sex workers. It added that “excluding sex workers or their children from the voter verification process solely because they do not possess conventional documents establishing family relationships would be inconsistent with the constitutional principles of equality, dignity, and inclusion reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.”

As per the Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), the state accounts for nearly one lakh sex workers, which is 9.6 per cent of India’s total women sex worker population.

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues .

Professional Background

Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature.

Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO.

Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives.

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Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.”

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Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions.

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