17
May
2008
An interesting reading on Pakistan’s prostitution blues (reader discretion advised)
I usually do not carry articles that come in unsolicited mails. The articles on troubling or contentious issues then even have lesser chance to qualify for my website. Yet this mail that I received had verifiable links so I continued to browse and reached the source of the article. The article makes for a sad [...]
I usually do not carry articles that come in unsolicited mails. The articles on troubling or contentious issues then even have lesser chance to qualify for my website. Yet this mail that I received had verifiable links so I continued to browse and reached the source of the article. The article makes for a sad reading because it is on the sexual industry in Pakistan which is so full of exploitation. And while it seems to carry purported facts that we have heard or read from sociologists researching on the issue, I must confess that I have never ever been to or seen places engages in person. The reason is not that I claim to be a saint or else never had any such opportunity. My only reason is that I consider sex slavery (the predominant form of prostitution in Pakistan) one of the worst forms of human exploitation and hence feel repelled by even the idea of loitering around any such place. An unknown fear of an emotional breakdown is what has kept me away from such places. Otherwise I am working journalist who has spent considerable time roaming around the country independently and hence can hardly complain of having no chances. Personally I am bothered ab out issues like rape, forced prostitution or sex slavery rather than sex between two consenting adults. But the shady industry that is burgeoning has in it the strong traces of exploitation. As for the incidents that I have heard or read are like the child prostitution near Bari Imam in Islamabad, the male child prostitution in NWFP’s cinema industry and child sex slavery in Pakistani truck industry, among beggars and in Balochistan. While the matters that I have learned have strong resonance with what Mr William Sparrow narrates below I have issues with his assertion at the end that Pakistan being a “proud Muslim” nation is still in a denial stage. Perhaps he was confusing Pakistan with Iran. The people of Pakistan are fully cognizant of these issues. The state we are in is somewhere between ambivalence and downright apathy. There is need for more sensitizing than mere attempts at raising awareness.
SEX IN DEPTH
In Pakistan, a dark trade comes to light
By William Sparrow
BANGKOK - Prostitution in the Islamic nation of Pakistan, once relegated to dark alleys and small red-light districts, is now seeping into many neighborhoods of country’s urban centers. Reports indicate that since the period of civilian rule ended in 1977, times have changed and now the sex industry is bustling.
Early military governments and religious groups sought to reform areas like the famous “Taxali Gate” district of Lahore by displacing prostitutes and their families in an effort to “reinvent” the neighborhood.
While displacing the prostitutes might have temporarily made the once small red-light district a better neighborhood for a time, it did little to stop the now dispersed prostitutes from plying their trade. Reforming a neighborhood, instead of offering education and alternative opportunities, appears to be at the core of early failures to curb the nascent sex industry. This mistake would become a prophetic error as now the tendrils of the sex trade have become omnipresent in cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore, not to mention towns, villages and rural outposts.
An aid worker for an Islamabad-based non-governmental organization (NGO) recently related a story: quickly after his arrival in the capital, he realized the house next to his own was a Chinese brothel. The Chinese ability to “franchise” the commercial sex industry by providing down-trodden Chinese women throughout Asia, North America and Europe would be admirable in a business sense if it were not for the atrocities - human trafficking, sexual slavery and exploitation - which cloud its practice.
Chinese bordellos, often operating as “massage parlors” or beauty salons, are across Pakistan, even spread even to war-torn and restive locations such as the Afghan capital Kabul. Chinese in the sex industry have developed a cunning ability to recognize areas where the demand for sex far outstrips the supply.
The NGO worker said that after months of living adjacent to the brothel things were shaken up - literally. One evening a drunk Pakistani drove his car into the brothel. Later the driver told authorities the ramming was a protest by a devout Muslim against the debauchery of the house and its inhabitants. The NGO worker, however, had seen the same car parked peacefully outside the house the night before.
The local sex industry comprised of Pakistani prostitutes has also grown in recent years. One can easily find videos on YouTube that show unabashed red-light areas of Lahore. The videos display house after house with colorfully lit entranceways always with a mamasan and at least one Pakistani woman in traditional dress. The women are available for in-house services for as little as 400 rupees (US$6) to take-away prices ranging 1,000 to 2,000 rupees. These districts are mostly for locals, but foreigners can indulge at higher prices.
Foreigners in Pakistan have no trouble finding companionship and may receive rates similar to locals in downtrodden districts. More upscale areas like Lahore’s Heera Mundi or “Diamond Market”, cater to well-heeled locals and foreigners. At these places prettier, younger girls push their services for 5,000 to 10,000 rupees for an all-night visit, and the most exceptional can command 20,000 to 40,000 rupees for just short time.
Rumors abound online that female TV stars and actresses can be hired for sex. “You can get film stars for 50,000 to 100,000 rupees but you need good contacts for that,” one blogger wrote after a trip to Lahore.
“The Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi sex scenes are totally changing and it’s easier and easier to get a girl for [sex],” another blogger wrote. “Most of the hotels provide you the girls upon request.” Bloggers also reported that it is easy to find girls prowling the streets after 6 pm, and foreigners can find young women hanging out near Western franchises like McDonald’s and KFC. Such women, the bloggers claim, can lead the customer to a nearby short-time accommodation.
Short-time hotels offering hourly rates can be found all over major cities, underscoring the profits being reaped by the sex industry.
Pakistan can also accommodate the gay community with prostitution. Unfortunately, this has also given rise to child prostitution.
A Pakistani blogger wrote, “We [ethnic] Pathans are very fond of boys. [In Pakistan] the wives are only [had sex with] once or twice a year. There are lot of gay brothels in Peshawar - the famous among them is at Ramdas Bazaar. [One can] go to any Afghan restaurant and find young waiters selling sex.”
As in many societies, access to technology, the Internet and mobile phones has only facilitated the sex trade in Pakistan. “Matchmaking” websites serve the male clientele, while providing marketing for prostitutes.
The root causes of prostitution in Pakistan are poverty and a dearth of opportunities. Widows find themselves on the streets with mouths to feed, and for many prostitution offers a quick fix. A local Pakistani prostitute can earn 2,000 to 3,000 rupees per day compared to the average monthly income of 2,500 rupees.
Forced prostitution is not rare. Women in hard times are often exploited and pushed into prostitution. Sandra (not her real name), said that after the death of her father she was left alone; friends and relatives deserted her after the grieving period. As a middle-class, educated woman she was surprised to find herself forced into prostitution from her office job.
“My boss initially spoiled me at first,” she told Khaleej Times. “[But] now I am in [the sex industry].” Sandra first thought her boss was being gracious, but quickly learned he was grooming her for sex for his own pleasure, and then acting as her pimp.
Many of Pakistan’s contemporary sexual mores may have evolved from traditional practices. For example, the polygamy permitted in Muslim society stemmed from the need for larger family units, the better to support familial ties and tend for widows. Until such ancient customs are updated, women such as Sandra will continue to be bought and sold.
It’s time for Pakistan to admit that prostitution is doing a roaring trade within its borders, and will continue to prosper until it is addressed in a modern manner. Let us hope that the people and government of this proud Muslim country will stop pretending the problem simply isn’t there.
William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five years. To contact him send question or comments to Letters@atimes.com.
(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Story Link: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JE17Df02.html















News has just arrived that Salmaan Taseer has been nominated for Punjab’s gubernatorial gadee. While it is still unconfirmed, contrary to many sentimental types, I consider it a welcome development. Primarily because it shows that the role of army officers, both serving and retired, in government is now ebbing. Lt General (retired) Khalid Maqbool was an ex-serviceman and I think even Pakistan Army principally agrees that it should have nothing to do with politics. I consider it yet another masterstroke of Asif Ali Zardari. Not only has he replaced an ex-army officer (who would have proven very difficult to remove) with a man who is trusted by the Pakistani establishment, a proof of which is his recent stint as a Federal Minister in a caretaker set up, but who has long term ties with the People’s Party. In one stroke of genius not only has he removed a political liability in shape of Maqbool, but extended olive branch to someone who is not only influential in his own right but also whose loss would have driven the liberal class of the country irreparably.
May 12 seems to me a cursed day. Last year witnessed the bloodshed of uncountable innocents. Today we are witnessing the blood of democracy being spilled. Some say that the President must be very happy. With due respect I do not think so. While democracy is indeed undergoing serious turbulence, but that doesn’t mean it is the end of it. Democracy as we have seen during the times of the Martial Law has its ways to survive and so does dissent. If yesterday a dictator wearing uniform equipped with the powers of emergency could not weather the storm will he do so now? In my humble view then it was Musharraf who lost on February 18, it was Musharraf who lost on May 12 2007 by exposing his true colors and it is Musharraf who has lost today. You do not understand? Just consider this.
Respected Sir,
I have just returned from a press talk of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi and while the talks are still deadlocked on the issue of the judges’ restoration there is heartening signs of progress elsewhere. The Foreign Minister told us that not only has the Foreign Office sent its deliberations to the Prime Minister with the summary for requesting the UN to probe Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the premier has signed it also. The request will be formally forwarded to the UN for deliberation and the FM would travel to the UN to press the matter further. It is good news. Great news actually. It implies that the government despite impasse on a few important issues has moved forward on matters that may define our future history. As I have said it earlier this matter is not only critical to the future of democracy in the country but also vital because in the coming days blame game could engulf the entire state and even Mohtarma’s own party. Now it is evident that the party is not playing a puppet of the establishment. If the request is finally forwarded to the UN it would be an evident defeat of the establishment.
When Sheila Jackson, the woman co-chairing the Pakistan caucus in the US Congress applauds the PPP’s functioning and complains about the PML-N it is something of a giveaway. Imagine what policy of the party is being applauded when there is broad consensus in Pakistani civil society circles that the party seems unsure on every policy matter? The policy then being applauded is that of tolerance towards Pervez Musharraf and his machinations. Remind me what is a caucus (for more on topic see