Prostitution in Pakistan is a taboo culture of sex-trade that exists as an open secret although being illegal. Prostitution is largely based in organizational set-ups like brothels or furthered by individual call girls. Sex-trade is deemed illegal due to the declaration of extramarital sex as an illegal activity. Prostitutes in the country, thus, operate underground and in spite of the legal difficulties, and contrary to popular belief, prostitution is thriving in the country. Both female and male prostitution have grown in operational yield in Pakistan over the years. With this increase in professional sex-trade in the country, non-governmental organizations are beginning to worry about issues like discrimination and AIDS. The caste system in South Asia, involving various castes and sects, has always been a ground for segregated skill development. In the region, occupational castes evolved over time providing specific skills to the society through hereditary exclusion from others. Being a blacksmith, goldsmith, shoemaker, or gardener etc., thus, became hereditary professions of specific communities. Over time, a professional caste which favored the society with services of prostitution also evolved. Men and women belonging to the community committed themselves to the act of sex-trade, where men stayed as supportive influences and women were the main workers. The non-elite class had a parallel system, that of brothels, which evolved much later when they no longer were controlled by the kings and nobility was loosened. It coincided with the growth of sea-trade where sailors became good clientele for the low-ranking prostitutes. During the British Raj, the earlier nobility was replaced by new nobility composed of those who showed loyalty for the British. This new nobility was incapable of taking the role of patrons like earlier kings, and so the British provided much need patronage for the profession to grow and regulated the trade. After the partition in 1947, Pakistan inherited the historical red-light districts in Lahore and Multan including the infamous Hira Mandi area. These were well-developed and attracted both wealthy clients and those looking for singers and actresses. The prostitutes and associates in the sex-trade were named ‘kanjars’, while their musician companions were known as the community of ‘mirasis’. The prostitutes would usually, and still do, dance to the music of harmonium and ‘tabla’ played by the mirasis. Where Lahore and Multan were the known contenders in the trade, other cities also had their own red-light districts which may include Napier Road in Karachi and Qasai Gali in Rawalpindi. The prostitutes retained the hereditary character of their occupation and the social stigma. During the rule of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who tried to Islamize the nation, prostitution was viewed as an "evil" in society and attempts were made to eradicate prostitution. Attempts were also made to curb music and dancing. The hours for performance of the dancing girls were reduced to two hours every evening. Police checkpoints were established in all entrances of red-light districts during the hours of rehearsing or practicing music where the names of the visitors in red-light areas were recorded in police register frightening the clients away. At present one of the major issues related to prostitution is their discrimination within the society which usually results in extortion by the police, social isolation and stigmatization. The people involved in this profession are also vulnerable to AIDS. AIDS awareness has always been minimal in traditional red-light districts in the country. However in recent past, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have pledged to promote public awareness regarding AIDS focusing their efforts mainly towards the sex-workers. This has greatly helped prostitutes in the red-light districts to have a reliable social contact for the first time concerning matters that were never before addressed. These very NGO circles have, as a result, benefited the profession. The women involved in the practice of prostitution in Pakistan can be divided into two broad categories. First that of, women who have been trafficked or lured into the profession and second of, women joining this profession for the sake of earning money. Trafficked women are mainly found in the brothels, while those who self-willingly join this profession work as call girls or dancers usually accompanied by a ‘dalla’ or pimp. Prostitution, especially in brothels, often remains associated with human trafficking as trafficked women are sold into brothels. In 2003, approximately 20,000 minors were engaged in prostitution in Pakistan. Human trafficking escalated after the Independence of Bangladesh as a growing number of women were trafficked from Bangladesh to Pakistan. Bangladeshi women are still sold in the brothels of Pakistan for $1,000 to $2,000 depending on age, beauty, race and their virginity. As prostitution has no legal recognition in the country, many prostitutes guise themselves as dancing girls hence averting from the illegalities. Professional dancing falls under the legal profession of performing arts and hence is often used a façade to mask their actual trade. A recent study indicated that major cities like Karachi, Lahore and Multan have large population of sex workers. Many sex workers in these cities operate from hotels or homes. Some cities have red-light districts, but due to illegal status of prostitution, many sex workers work in homes and other private facilities. There are very few identifiable traditional red-light districts in the cities in Pakistan. Prostitution in Pakistan is dispersed throughout urban areas in residential suburbs. Cities like Karachi and Lahore are major base of operation for call-girls. In Karachi, many girls take on the occupation of call-girls independently; however most girls enter into prostitution after coming into contact with a pimp. The girls share 40%–50% of their income with the pimps. Some call girls work with the pimps under a fixed monthly amount, and the pimps provide police protection, shelter and bear daily expenses. Many call girls learn dance-forms like mujra to earn more money. Most of the prostitutes operating in affluent urban areas are educated and belong to the middle-class. Affluent men in the nation may have a second or even a third wife who may be a prostitute with whom they have had a semi-permanent sexual relationship in return for financial support. These men and women do not view their relationship in terms that of a client and a sex worker. Male and gay prostitution is increasing in Pakistan, though gay prostitution is not a recent phenomenon in the country. British explorer Richard Francis Burton, who visited the Sindh region long before the British conquest, documented a brothel of boy prostitutes in Karachi. Today many areas of large cities in the country have become virtual red-light districts for gay sex. Male prostitutes operate their business in every city and major town in Pakistan. Clients of male prostitutes come from every class, age group and profession. Homo-sexual men belonging to the upper and middle classes frequently pick up male prostitutes from video game shops, restaurants and cold-drinks spots. Young male prostitutes generally find customers in places like dark alleys, crowded bus stops, shopping centers, cinemas, hotel lobbies, parks, railway stations, hospitals, school compounds, elevators of public buildings etc. Prostitution has no legal recognition in Pakistan. Moreover despite growth of male prostitution and gay prostitution, homosexuality is outlawed in the nation. Under Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code, whoever voluntarily has "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" shall be punished by 100 lashes and from 2 years to life imprisonment. While arrests are not common for homosexuality, the law is used as a tool to blackmail. Police frequently take money or sex from people they know to be involved in commercial or non-commercial homosexual relationship. Pakistani law is greatly influenced by the Penal Code drawn up by the British in 1892. This remains a major element of the current Pakistani law. Sexual relations between two consenting adults were not a crime in Pakistan before 1979. Only the involvement of minors in prostitution was prohibited by law. Later the Zina Ordinance was enacted and extramarital sex became a criminal offence. In the 1950s, "dancing-girls" were legitimized as "artists" in a High Court order. Thus they were permitted to perform for three hours in the evening. This is the only legal cover they have obtained till date. Other carnal activities, red-light districts and brothels remain illegal business and operate as an open secret let be by offering huge sums in bribe to the police. |
| BY MASOOD NABI KHAN • |
