Hemraj P. Jangir

ICMR, Rajasthan, India

Title: No Work, No Worth? Ageing and Social Abandonment of Retired Sex Workers in Nat Community in Rajasthan, India

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Biography

This article critically explores the post-retirement livelihood experiences of older adult women from the Nat community residing in rural Rajasthan. Historically marginalized and criminalized under the colonial-era Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, the Nat community has long been associated with itinerant entertainment and, in many regions, the involvement of women in sex work. Drawing on a qualitative research design, the study employs in-depth interviews with ten older adult Nat women across two villages, who have left sex work. The findings reveal a stark absence of familial, societal and institutional support in late life, despite these women having been primary income earners within their households. Their current reliance on begging during festivals, compounded by deteriorating health—largely attributable to occupational precarity—signals systemic neglect and deep-rooted socio-economic vulnerabilities. The analysis is theoretically grounded in disengagement theory, social exchange theory, labeling theory and the active ageing framework, while also invoking intersectionality as a critical analytical lens to unpack the confluence of caste, gender, age and stigmatized labor. In centering the lived realities of older adult Nat women, the article foregrounds the urgent necessity for inclusive ageing policies and culturally responsive welfare interventions tailored to historically excluded groups.

Abstract