Located on the Tanzanian east coast, the city of Dar es Salaam is booming with new development and investment from the east. Confounded between new infrastructural potential and a plethora of possible development agendas for the city, the local government ignores the struggle of sex workers within its slums.
Undertaking Autonomy relates to the current conditions and life situations sex workers find themselves in, in Dar es Salaam slum areas. Young HIV Positive women, down on their luck, with no male figure to help with the costs involved in raising children, are a common sight in sprawling, dense cities such as Dar es Salaam. Uwanja wa Fisi (Hyena Square) has become a mainstay these women turn to for barely enough money to get by. Amplified by police brutality, corruption in law enforcement and, in cases, drug addiction, these women have very little way out and non-existent health-related assistance.
