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Pain of being a disabled sex worker in Nairobi

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Handicapped women brave harsh conditions in Nairobi Street to eke a living in Nairobi’s red districts I was shocked when he removed his artificial leg then whipped out a gun. He had sex with me for two days without protection- Deaf sex worker

A deaf woman who worked as a sex worker has told The Nairobian that the trade is replete with hazards.

The woman who operated from Kangemi narrated her harrowing ordeals at the hands of men to this reporter.

She revealed to The Nairobian that she opted for ‘house-based services’ after she was injured by police officers while in the ‘line of duty’. One of her friends divested to hawking after constant harassment by law enforcers.

Many disabled women work as sex workers in Nairobi. Take for instance Agnes (not her real name) who despite being physically disabled, is among the handicapped women braving competition and harassment in Nairobi’s red districts.

The mother of three, and now in her 40s, suffered a stroke. But for over six months, she has endured rape, the vagaries of weather and fights, besides clients and real mafisi taking advantage of her condition to exploit her.

“I am unable to compete with beautiful, younger sex workers who are not only physically fit, but also have great bodies, which they flaunt to lure clients. But some clients prefer my services” she reveals.

She walks with a limp and one of her hands is barely functional. She has to cover up her body completely while at ‘work’, which drives potential customers away.

In an interview with The Nairobian at her secluded ‘base’, she narrated how she was gang- raped by two boda boda operators in the wee hours of the morning after she hired them to drop her home. Instead, they changed route to Limuru Road and dragged her into a thicket.

“It was traumatising. I feel they did so because they felt I was not able to defend myself,” she says.

Agnes however admits that some customers are nice and pay Sh500 to Sh1,000 for her services, although others take off when they realise she is handicapped.

“A good number of my clients are physically disabled men. They keep me going and enable me to earn at least Sh500 a day. I guess they feel we are birds of a feather,” she explains.

But clients who decline to pay or decide to fork less than the agreed amount don’t always get away easy.

“I don’t entertain that nonsense. I go physical. I may be handicapped, but I have strong hands. I once pushed down a customer then hit him with a beer bottle. He paid promptly,” she says with a chuckle.

Agnes got into the sex business in 2000 when she was still okay. Her base was in Westlands. She later moved to an Arabian country in 2004 to work as a domestic worker, where she stayed for eight years. She suffered a stroke in 2012 when she came back to Kenya for a break.

“I was hospitalised for a year and all my Sh250,000 savings were drained by the sickness. After four years struggling to make ends meet, I decided to venture into prostitution mid-last year,” she discloses.

Her first-born child dropped out of school in Form Three, while her last two children are in primary school.

“My children and relatives don’t know what I do for a living. It’s my dream to leave this trade and start a cereals business,” she says.

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