The Autobiography of A Sex worker

‘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.

About the Author
Nalini Jameela came into public view in Kerala in 2005 when her autobiography, Oru Laingikatozhilaliyute Atmakatha, was published in Malayalam, and became a controversial bestseller. The Malayalam book went into six editions in one hundred days and sold 13,000 copies.