Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) Actress Renuka Shahane stood up for prostitutes when actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi bracketed prostitutes and criminals in a tweet.

Renuka said there needed to be ways to correct the injustice that the traditions had imposed on sex workers.

Suchitra tweeted: "Amma always said 'money is not everything. Even criminals and wh**es have money. What matters is not money but character and integrity'. I truly understand her words only today. I've never felt more proud of my middle class roots."

To this, Renuka replied: "No disrespect to your Amma, Suchitra, but as women let's try and correct the injustice that our traditions have imposed on wh**es. We castigated wh**es while letting off their customers who are leading 'respectful' lives! Let's not put wh**es and criminals in one bracket at least." 

"Wh**es sell what is theirs. Criminals take what is others," she added. 

Renuka said sex workers were often pushed into their profession due to human trafficking at a young age.

"Does any child have the right to say 'no' at that age? Wh**es are pushed into prostitution by people they trust explicitly. Wh**es are abused, raped, tortured, drugged, given hormonal injections at a very early age and then raped relentlessly throughout their professional lives."

Suchitra concurred with Renuka's point of view.