Anniversary Issue 2009

Archive news of 2010-08-16

Part One

The status of prostitution needs to be defined

M S Siddiqui

PROSTITUTION is sexual act in lieu of payment. Either men or women who gratify
sexual urge of the opposite sex in exchange of cash are called prostitutes.

Historically, most of the prostitutes have been women and most of their clients, men. The
perceptions of prostitution, based on culturally determined values, differ from society to
society. In some societies, the prostitution has been viewed as a recognised profession. In
others, prostitutes are shunned, reviled, and punished.

Considered the oldest profession, at times, prostitution get the consent of religious rules.
Sorts of legally protected prostitution exists in some religious casts. Prostitution was
widespread in ancient civilisations like Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India. In ancient
Greece, prostitutes enjoyed high social rank and considerable influence. In some cases,
prostitutes engaged in certain religious activities. In the subcontinent, this profession was
not widespread before the advent of the British colonial rule in 1757. The oldest brothel
at Tanbazar, Narayngonj, was established during British rule.

Available studies indicate that hardly do any woman willingly choose prostitution as a
career. Coercion manipulation and peer pressure, mainly compel women to enter
prostitution. Poverty, marginalisation due to sexual abuse, predatory recruitment and
trickery also compel many into it. Women, duped into the profession, hardly know what
awaits them. Abduction, rape, trafficking of women and children, drug addiction, all
inter-related problems, often lead to prostitution.

Human trafficking has become a problem for many countries, including Bangladesh. It is
an international problem. According to UN, Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates 1.20
million children are trafficked across the world every year. According to a non-
governmental source, about 200,000 women and children have been trafficked to the
Middle East in 20 years. Human rights activists and agencies estimate that 200 to 400
young women and children are smuggled out of Bangladesh and other South Asian
countries to India for different destinations including India.

Trafficking is a source of supply of prostitutes. Trafficking rackets maintain strong

networks and also links in the administration. According to the Indian Social Welfare
Board, there are 500,000 foreign prostitutes in India, 1.0 per cent of whom are from
Bangladesh. And 2.7 per cent of prostitutes in Calcutta are from Bangladesh. Every day,
over 50 women and children are trafficked out of Bangladesh into India. Some are
illegally transported into Pakistan. Traffickers use 20 points in 16 western districts of
Bangladesh, bordering India. Many of the victims end up in Middle Eastern countries.
Dhaka-Mumbai-Karachi-Dubai is the main route.

The rapid growth of tourism across the world contributed to increased prostitution and
trafficking in women and children. Another fallout is a spate in sex tourism and
pornographic literature. It is organised and networks of pimps manage the related
operations. Many government keep an eye shut to the developments. Some countries
liberalised the laws governing prostitution.

This profession now plays a major role in the world economy. The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that gross criminal product makes up 15 per
cent of world trade. The sex markets account for a sizeable share of this. It is estimated
that trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution alone generates more money
than smuggling of firearms or drugs. Increasingly regarded as an entertainment industry,
sex trade and prostitution often get the stamp of "legitimate work".

The prostitution industry accounts for 5.0 per cent of the GDP of the Netherlands and
between 1.0 and 3.0 per cent of Japan. In 1998, the International Labour Organization
(ILO) estimated that prostitution accounted for between 2.0 and 14.0 per cent of the total
economic activity in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Prostitution is legal, with some restrictions, in Canada, most of Europe including

England, France, Wales and Denmark and most of South America including Mexico and
Brazil. It is legal in Israel, Australia, and many other countries. Tel Aviv is known as the
'brothel capital' of the world. It is either legal or a phenomenon, tolerated in most of the
countries in Asia. Iran allows "temporary wives" which can be for only a few hours! New
Zealand passed in 2003 one of the most comprehensive decriminalisation acts which even
made street hookers legal which is causing many concerns.

The Iranian Penal Code, 1925, did not categorise prostitution, as a crime in itself. But,
under the law, it is a crime to advocate, aid or abet a woman to enter prostitution or to
operate a brothel. In post-Islamic revolution Iran, execution - by firing squad or stoning --
is a fitting penalty against this profession. But Iran allows 'Mutïa', a form of temporary
marriage which degrades a woman. Under 'Mutïa', it is possible to be `married even for
half an hour. Men who visit prostitutes simply marry them for a few hours. It is legal in
Iran.
There is a belief that recognising prostitution could protect women from abuse. But, this
belief does not take into account, the violence often done to women in prostitution.

Recognition of prostitution requires registration of women in prostitution, but the sex

workers, as they are called now, are against compulsory registration. But they seem to
accept that some kind of mandatory registration would have to happen. There is a debate
whether women in prostitution could be confined to licensed ghettos. Bangladeshi laws
are far from clear even after the verdict of high court against the eviction of sex workers
from brothels. The law in Bangladesh requires a woman to give an affidavit before a first
class magistrate to obtain a license for prostitution.

The legalisation of the profession has to be considered from moral, religious, health,
human rights and criminal perspectives.

The Bangladesh Constitution stipulates prevention of prostitution. The Clause 18(2) of

the Constitution stipulates that the state shall adopt effective measures to prevent
prostitution and gambling.

Following a writ petition, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court ruled in 2000,
that prostitution as a livelihood is not illegal. A two-judge bench after hearing the case of
the sex workers observed that the government had acted illegally in closing down the
brothels.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) legally binds every signatory country, including Bangladesh, to implement its
stipulations. The convention upholds the right to free choice of profession and
employment.

The scenario with regard to this profession is somewhat complex in Bangladesh, which
allows joining the profession, with an affidavit made before a magistrate while it is a
constitutional obligation to eliminate prostitution. The judgement of the High Court and
the CEDAW to which Bangladesh is a signatory, makes the issue more unclear. How the
government reports to the UN every four years on elimination of discrimination against
women remains a question.

Legalisation of the profession is to criminalize those who benefit from prostitution - the
pimps and the customers, law enforcers, regulators and judicial system. Sweden,
following a reform, legalised prostitution but criminalised pimping.

The status of this profession should be clearly defined, either by banning or legalising it.
The hide-and-seek policy benefits regulators and law enforcers at the cost of the
prostitutes.

(The writer, a part-time teacher in Leading University, can be reached at

ahah@banglachemical.com)