Re: Should prostitution be legalised

[Guest guest]

Dear forum,

Calling prostitution as illegal is a formality whose baton has been passed on to

us following the usual norms of a relay race by our counterparts of yester

years.

The only contradiction – the winner can touch the finishing line on completion

of his run.

But in this sleaze game , there is no finishing line. It follows its normal

course , it faces resistance , the question of morality very often peeping out

from the quick-sands like the pebbles deviating the normal flow of a meander;

but ultimately fades into the depths of time. Both literally and figuratively !!

And now ,the issue of legalizing ‘the world’s oldest profession’ is creating

ripples in our minds.

Yes, certainly its better. Atleast we aren’t behaving prudish like the Americans

who sometime back had come up with the brainstorming idea of training young

people in pop psychology and branding them as “Sex Surrogates”.

The aftermath of the 'Dangerous' icon MJ’s paedophillic behaviour , I suppose.

The United Nations , the cultural police , the non-governmental organizations

and the Governments of all nations across the globe is crusading tirelessly to

reduce the vulnerability of commercial sex workers from getting sexually

exploited . Perhaps legalisation would help to strengthen the community

involvement in this aspect which is essential for commercial sex workers

entertaining their clients in brothels.

Today they are ostracized and find no place in our ‘so-called’ social community.

Hurled into the darkness they live as an out-caste in a specially created zone

earmarked exclusively for them. These notoriously famous zones in course of

time has found a place in our jargon as the ‘red-light area’ that hits the

headlines of every news item almost everyday.

Here the demand is a mere 50 rupees for an unprotected sex and even paltrier ,

a sum of 30 rupees for a protected one.

Forget about combating the fight against STD’s and the AIDS epidemic… or

fighting a legal battle to prove the father of a sex-worker’s child.... when

the cost of a precious life is : less than a pet jar bottle of Coke in INR.

Tantalising as the fizz, & that too the desi Coke fizz .

A shift in the paradigm. A sequel to this reality show …THE RISE OF FEMME

FATALES -

Enter the new age ultra modern stiletto gals of Gen 2K adding an extra spice to

this bootilicious extravaganza. With navel piercing tattoos, midriff bearing

noodle-straps and bare backed dimples, these women don’t mind being referred to

as a ‘hooker’(after all, even represented a voluptuous ‘hooker’

with a golden heart in “Pretty Woman”) they represent the flesh and blood

lascivious nicotine addict and sipping martini species, straight out from the

novels of Jackie .

Swanky cars , CDMA’s to fix up an appointment with the client, shopping the

satins and the lycra and the diaphanous black thongs at the upmarket stores ,and

getting a taste of the high life of shaking a leg at the city’s latest pubs sets

their mind on fire.

Winner of small-town beauty pageants , or simply ambitious college going or

even high school girls queue in front of hotels , pubs and the latest fad – as

exotic masseurs at the parlours to earn some extra pocket money turn them to

this profession.

Bored and unsatisfied housewives today have no inhibitions to step into the

shoes of Lane in 'Unfaithful' or our very own Meghna Naidu in 'Hawas'

trying to break free from the shackles of the mundane life , just to get that

extra spice.

Thousands of rupees is spent to kindle the fire for a single night. ‘Foreign

babes’ coming from Uzbekistan, Russia , Philipinnes are in great demand.

Indian men have a weakness for fair skin it seems. Though, their rates are

astronomical, the Indian male doesn’t mind to pay a few bucks more for an orgy.

Clients include top politicians, bureaucrats ,top honchos of MNC’s and even the

common man earning a mere five thousand monthly, turn to these English speaking

pretty chics to satisfy their carnal desires.

The only difference to their counterparts still visiting the lousy brothels is :

AIDS is a deterring factor and so well educated clients often get the profiles

of these women before hand and often ask them if they are ‘well or not’ and the

women insist that they use condoms . They want to play it safe, in a

sophisticated manner. The modus-operandi is indeed a smooth cruise for both the

sexes.

Friends, its too outdated to make the legalisation of prostitution a moral

issue , we’ve grown tired of this cliché which has reached the stage of being

hurled into the trash bin.

But making it legal ‘legally’(an attempted pun – thereby meaning ‘formally’)

churns out the most inevitable question that need to be addressed and if

possible redressed with targeted interventions & considering the priorities.

1. How much effective would 'it' be especially in today’s context when the

husband of a former national sportstar turned MP of the ruling party in West

Bengal is made to vanish into the “exclusive ward” of the city’s best State run

hospital immediately after his arrest red-handed in connection with running a

flesh trade racket in a hotel owned by him in the heart of the posh locality of

Kolkata which houses the residence of many political people including the former

CM of the State ?

2. Will the legalisation be of any relevance to check on the vulnerability of

the commercial sex workers of the brothels from getting exploited when the

‘pretty hot chics of this Gen 2K' that includes even freelancers making big

bucks at a fast pace entertaining the city’s high profile who’s who ?

(Lets not forget these ‘femme fatales’ come club class & join this entertainment

out of their own volition just to “have fun” or to earn that extra bit of pocket

money)

Its time to ponder before we chalk out the destiny of our nation , especially

when the Scandinavian Country Sweeden known for its highly open-society and

rather unusual sexual proclivities has declared prostitution illegal in 1995 ,

repealing its earlier legal existence.

We need to think legally of course !!

 

Thanks

Arindam Roy

Global Youth Partner,UNFPA

E-mail: <net_arindam@...>