---

Without a doubt, the most striking thing about Freeset is the women. It’s not the well-designed, eco-friendly products; it’s not the ex-pat staff; it’s not the unique focus and business structure. The women are what sets Freeset apart. They radiate freedom and hope to their community.

Nearly all the Freeset women still live in the same brothel rooms they lived in before they left the sex trade. Since the rooms are usually rented individually, they can continue to live there without selling their bodies. Since the trade is not something the women ever chose for themselves, it’s very rare that they’re tempted to return to it. So living in the brothels doesn’t present a risk to them—and it provides one of Freeset’s greatest opportunities.

Every day Freeset women walk home through sex lanes, past women standing waiting in the street. They cross lines of prostitutes to enter their homes. And they do it with hope in their eyes and no shame in their hearts. They’re a living example of freedom and hope for their neighbors. Nearly all the women who work at Freeset began working there because they saw the change in someone else’s life. By seeing a neighbor’s life change, they realize they have a choice.

Not all the women in Sonagachi have the freedom to leave the trade; but unlike trafficking victims and prostitutes in other areas of the world, most of the women in Sonagachi aren’t imprisoned. They are all trapped by poverty and lack of education, and many were originally brought to the trade against their will. Most have debts they owe to madams and husbands or boyfriends who demand money from them. But most can leave. With help, courage, opportunity, and compassion, they can choose freedom.

Although it seems like an obvious choice, it can be difficult. Leaving the life you know without the educational background to fully understand where you’ve been and where you’re going can feel like a huge risk. Leaving something you know, that pays your bills and feed your kids, for a life you’ve never seen can feel like a huge risk. Trusting foreigners when all you’ve ever heard from anyone is lies can feel like a huge risk.

So it’s so powerful for women in the sex trade to see Freeset women living a new life—free, happy, healthy, and successful. For many women, it’s that example that spurs them to take the most courageous step of their lives.

Beyond just their example, many Freeset women have developed hearts that actively seek to bring other women from the sex trade. One of the women who’s been at Freeset since the beginning told me that her vision is for Freeset to grow so that every woman—thousands of them—in Sonagachi can experience freedom. Their new lives inspire to seek out ways to help and encourage their neighbors. For the first time in their lives, they’re empowered—and they want to pass on the gift. Instead of the American notion of looking out for yourself, they’re looking out for other women. From victims they’ve been transformed into intentional agents of change.

The Freeset women are using their lives to change their neighborhood, one woman at a time. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

---

---