real life story prostitution

Prostitution Runs In The Family

Ever imagined that a family could encourage its daughters to become prostitutes?

Rajasthan’s Nat community has a tradition of prostitution. This nomadic tribe which previously engaged itself in street performances later adopted “commercial sex” as its traditional occupation. Other communities like Rajnat, Kanjar and Bedia tribes also follow similar tradition in the state.

Family Irony

The Nat community is patriarchal and male dominated. The women in the community may be divided into two groups prostitutes and non-prostitutes. The sex workers in spite of their earning status are shunned by both society and their families. They are given less respect in comparison to the married women.

The sex workers are not allowed to attend auspicious rituals or marry within the community. Conversely, the married women are expected to be chaste. They are expected to wear veils and maintain distance from elders. Pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs are condemned in the Nat society.

Nat males are forbidden to be clients of the sex-workers. The sex-workers are expected to have professional relations with their clients. They have to share their profits with the pimps and sometimes retired female sex workers. It is observed that a retired sex-worker totally depends on the income of these young prostitutes for her survival.

A sex-worker is the most important earning member in the family who is also bestowed with the responsibility of getting her brother married. However she is not allowed to marry with in the community.

How do they enter the profession?

Segregation of girls start at a very early age. The “prospective” sex workers are given training by pimps and retired prostitutes where as the other girls are taught the fundamentals of family life.

Lack of education, awareness, empowerment and institutionalization are major reasons for the girls to enter the profession.

Ceremony of Nath Uttarai

The clients pay highly for a virgin girl. The first intercourse is mark of celebration with in the tribe. The girl who is dressed like a newly-wed, wears a nose ring which has to be removed by her first client. The client is considered the husband of the girl and he is given preference over other clients in future. The high price for virgin girls motivates the families to sell their daughters soon after attaining puberty.

Concerns

1. Lack of education and knowledge available to young women has adversely affected their ability to make decisions. 2. They are exploited by both pimps and retired female sex workers. 3. There are greater chances of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases especially AIDS as the sex workers practice unprotected commercial sex. There is considerable lack of awareness with in the community with regard to sexually transmitted diseases. 4. The young girls are now being trafficked by the pimps to other areas including Delhi and Mumbai. The clients in the metropolitan cities pay higher prizes than those in the villages. 5. The greed for higher price lures the parents to sell their daughter as soon as they attain puberty. 6. Although they are the earning members of the family, their status is low. 7. The children are financially and socially depended upon their maternal uncle. 8. Since the sex-workers are not allowed to marry in the community, their is an increase of marriages taking place between a Nat Male and A Non-Nat Female.

Conclusion The female sex workers amongst the Nats are being exploited at every stage both by their family and society. The income generated by selling their bodies barely reaches them. The intermediaries take a chunk of profit from their earning. Unprotected commercial sex with clients is prevalent. The rights of their children are hardly enforced. Not only the prostitutes but their children also suffer considerably.

Awareness must be spread amongst the women. Alternative employment should be arranged for those who wish to leave the profession. Education must be ensured for both males and females. The retired sex-workers must be rehabilitated. Presence of pimps and female trafficking must be checked. The involved of minor girls in the trade must be curtailed. Efforts should be made to bring the community with the mainstream. Gradual changes must be brought in the perception of the community as a whole.

Picture Credits:Picapp

Social Issues World

Different faces of prostitution in Afghanistan

wazhmafrogh 2 Comments article prostitution afghanistan, child prostitutes, drug rehablitation centre afghanistan, drugs and prostitution, father forced daughter into prostitution, girl prostitute, illegal prostitution, laws in afghanistan prostitution, muslim society prostitution, prostitution afghanistan, protitution world issue, real life story prostitution, reasons for becoming a prostitute, selling of women, views prostitution afghanistan, women prostitutes

Prostitution is not an easily accepted reality in our society. Most of the time, we are in denial that in Muslim societies women do not sell their bodies for money, even if they do, no one will buy. It is actually the opposite, even if a woman does not want, the societal miseries make her do anything for survival and livelihood of the family. While Prostitution in many other parts of the world could be understand as a woman’s sexual desire and of her immoral character; the truth behind it is hardly explored.While prostitution is illegal and anyone found guilty would be punished severely, but the law only punishes the woman rather than removing societal pressures that make women embrace prostitution as means of survival.

In my work on women’s issues in Afghanistan, I came across many women who have at least once sold their bodies to earn a living either forced by a family member or in secret. However, I chose to write about these three women I met three years ago in an old city of Kabul. These three different women have at least one thing in common, that even in a closed traditional and religious society, they were made to be prostitutes, either in public or in secret.

A couple of years ago, I was on a monitoring visit to a rehabilitation center for drug addicts and during the distribution of medical kits for the rehabilitated patients, noticed three women getting the medicine who didnt seem as patients. They were quiet well-dressed and the red lipstick was shining on the faces. When asked about their addiction, I found out that these three are not addict, they come to take the medicines because it can help them overcome the mental trauma they are going through….and someone whispered to me”these three are prostitutes”….. I tried to probe into their life stories and after almost two weeks of talking to them, here is a short summary of their stories :

Rahima, the eldest of the three women was 38 years old and mother of 4 daughters and a son. She returned from Iran in 2004 and has been living in her in laws house. The house was big, scary and ruined during the civil war. Her husband was an iron smith but when they were in Iran, he became a drug addict and could no more provide any living for the family. Rahima remembers the first time that she knew her body could earn her a living was the offer of her husband’s friend, when he came as a guest to their home. That was when Rahima had two of her daughters in the hospital because awild dog had bit them. She said that the clinic asked her to buy two vaccines worth of 6,000 Afghanis to save her daughters and when she sought assistance from her husband’s old friend, he offered her 5000 Afghanis for one night and a promise to find more clients as she earns more experience in this field. Rahima had no other options and accepted and she said, he was the only man she knew who was so loyal to fulfil his promise.

Negine, was the tallest and the most beautiful of the three women. She was around 35 years old and had been living with her father. Initially, I couldnt believe that it was her father who made her a home-based earning prostitute. She said, he died in a fortunate suicide attack last year in Kabul but she continued paying attributes to his legacy. Negine’s father was a cook in a Police Teaching Academy in one of the central provinces and whenever he came home, he used to bring a high ranking police official to their home and she was made to stay with that prestigious guest and entertain him. In his lifetime, Negine could never get out of the house and it was the father who bought her beautiful clothes and make up and encouraged her to look attractive to his superiors. Negine said that her father’s sudden death left a big shop that was built on her money and she could live a better life with that income,but after so many years of entertaining the high ranking police chiefs, she is kind of used to this way of life. She said, she likes when a high rank officer obeys her orders.

Shahperai, the youngest of the three was around 15 years of age. She said, she found herself on the streets since she remembers. Shahperai was a very outgoing, and loud young girl. She used to make fun of everything and it seemed that she had nothing to regret in her life. Shahperai recalled her first experience of using her body to earn money in the busy streets of the expat bazaar, Chicken street of Share Naw, Kabul. She said some three years ago, while cleaning a car in a car park, two men came closer to her and said ” we will pay you – if you show us….” and since then she has been earning through displaying and selling her body.

These were the three women with a summary of their stories. I am sure there are many other untold similar experiences fearing the hypocratic society. We need to accept these realities and be able to confront these injustices inflicted on women.