“If prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, then story telling is the world’s oldest obsession.” ~ Tom Robbins
Prostitution means promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire whether in money or kind with a prostitute. It is to be seen that the absence of the love element is the one essential factor that stamps the woman as a prostitute. Another vital element was argued that women derive no pleasure from her sexual escapades, but concerned solely with the fees she receives in return for her services. The history of India shows that prostitution as a profession was accepted by the society during the Brahmana period. In that era prostitutes were called ‘veshya’ meaning merchants who led a town. Later the word was changed in ‘beshya’ which meant ‘one who is approachable to and by all’. There is no clear literature about the life, habits, modes and manners and laws related to prostitution in that era, but in the Epic period this profession had a legal status. During the region of Pandavas and Kauravas, veshya were an important part of the court. It was to be seen that they were invited by the people of high status and were asked to dress in red clothing, red garlands and use ornaments of red gold in the participation of social functions. The colour red was used as a symbol of Yama, hence warning the people about the dangerous effect of sexual union with a prostitute.
“We need to distinguish between those who enter into sex work willingly and those who are coerced. The former deserve our respect and understanding, the latter our urgent assistance.” ~ Kamala Harris
As it is to be said that prostitution is a profession that has been practised since the existence of human race and it always has been a controversial topic to discuss about. A person always likes to work for his passion but in a country standing on 132nd place on the human development index working is just a mode of survival in this country. With a poverty rate of 21.9% and unemployment rate of 8.11% this limits the mode of survival for the people suffering. It is not only because of the lack of economic opportunity but also because of the absence of education amongst the people, mostly women tend to fall into the darkness of this society as they see it like the only way of survival of their families. Due to the patriarchy that roots in the Indian society girl child has always been seen a burden to the family, it can be seen in few unkept rural arears that family sells their girls for mere amount of money that supports their survival of few days. This activity falls under human trafficking which is one of the leading causes of prostitution. Sonagachi located in central Kolkata is the biggest red-light area of Asia. In an interview it was said by an activist that majority of the prostitutes in such brothels are brought through human trafficking. As trafficking is an alarming matter to deal with the apex court through a judgement in 2011 made sure that Article 21 which deals with right to life and personal liberty and Article 19 (1) (g) which deals with right to trade, profession or occupation of one’s choice under the Constitution of India should not be violated, which means that a person practising prostitution with their own will and consent is a legally recognized profession whereas practise of forceful prostitution or running of a brothel is a punishable offence under The Immoral Traffic ( Prevention) Act, 1956.
Even after gaining legal recognition many people with conservative thoughts, religious beliefs, believes that prostitution is an immoral practise as it involves sexual favour for money, which is a sign of societies moral decay. People with a feminist prospectives believes that this is a sign of degrading women and is a practise that normalizes beating up a woman, thrashing or raping her in exchange of money. But other than the societal view there are many other reasons why prostitution has become a profession. The reference of this profession was made in Ramayana as Bharat ordered the courtesans to join the welcome festival of the return of the triumphant Rama. It was also seen in Mahabharata that almost forty-two names of apsaras were recorded in it’s text. ‘Apsara’ according to Hindu mythology is a celestial being which originally provided sensual pleasure for both gods and men along with singing, dancing and being a mean of entertainment for them. Not only this there many more such references in Indian history where it can be seen that the women are being used as ‘vishkanya’ i.e, ‘poisonous virgin’ or ‘devdasi’ i.e, ‘a girl who has been offered to god by her parents’. The women who were being exploited in such manner usually belonged to lower caste or were slaves of different countries. The women in this profession has always been frowned upon by the society in the earlier times to maintain a distinguish, prostitutes were suppose to wear red coloured clothing’s as it was a sign of death and destructions. The economic status of the prostitutes dependent on their youth, beauty and services they have to offer and as far as religious recognition is concerned prostitution has been acknowledged in the Vedic literature but still is considered as a sin in the Hinduism as sexual intercourse outside a courtship is considered to be a bad karma.
There are endless number of problems that can be faced due to practising this profession and rather than licencing prostitution to solve the problems the profession should be decriminalized and made available to ply or not on the own will of the sex workers. Decriminalization will make this activity more acceptable, and workers should be able to do their jobs without any fear of being harassed by the police. It will also insist on better working conditions. Alternative accommodation and assistance for prostitutes and their dependants are required along with sex education courses at elementary level. Few long-term strategies like avoiding child marriage and increasing the awareness of their rights through legal literacy, ensuring admissions in schools without male guardian’s consent, having compulsory and free education for children will help in developing a more hospitable and welcoming environment for the people following this profession. These steps can also be considered as a way of curbing the legacy or forceful prostitution that is practised in the society.
Panya Tyagi
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