Navya Agraval, who is a student at Stanford University, USA, was assigned the podcast on ancient prostitution in India for her summer assignment. While researching the topic, she came through the article on the Bedia Community written by Dimple Arora on Bedia Community. The Bedia community defends prostitution. They contend that sex labor is a socially and culturally acceptable means of subsistence.
In the interview, Navya and Dimple both exchange their thoughts and opinions on the topic. Navya raised questions about the lives of the community workers, who they were, and how their lives were. While sharing thoughts, they came to a remarkable statement on “how untouchability doesn’t affect people while doing sex but providing them the equal opportunity of education and employment does”
Moving forward, the interview turned toward transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS. It was very common for people from the Bedia Community to get diseases like HIV and AIDS. She also talked about the mental setup, How their mentality has been set up that they are provided with the option of whether they want to be a prostitute or want to marry.
However, the workers of the Bedia community have always chosen prostitution with their will as they think that this will make them independent and their whole family gets dependent on them for the finance.
Concluding the interview, The men of the society have been not able to financially help the family with their inherited talent of dance and music, making the women the breadwinner.