Legalisation of Prostitution- Miss Cellany speaks
May 1, 2012 
A few days back while watching ; *correction* while attempting to watch the audition of a reality based TV show, I was amused to hear some views about Legalisation of Prostitution in India. No No , there was nothing new in what was being said. The girl who was aptly alluded as Rani of Jhansi by one of the moderators had gone fully ballistic against the legalisation attributing it to being immora,l illegal and against our Indian culture. Sigh! Not a surprise coming from a semi fire brand like her , but what surprised me with a tinge of disappointment was that the so called ‘modern thinkers like the moderators too agreed with her. ‘Indian cultur’e-magic words aren’t they? We do have a tendency to go overboard when we hear the two words, swearing to protect and retain it at the cost of overlooking certain practical issues.
As you might have realised by now , I am pro legalisation of prostitution but not without my reasons and heaven knows I am willing to put forth my points for anyone who is willing to listen to me.
A profession as old as prostitution , one of the oldest in the history of our civilisation, being considered illegal in the name of Indian culture is a bit of an irony. Please do not think that I am promoting it. By all means ban it, but ban it completely. Let every citizen of the country ban it . Impose a total ban, but if you cannot ensure that, then legalise it to minimise the harm. How? I will come to that later and yes, I ain’t evading it . I am ready with my arsenal. It’s just that first I want to know why exactly do you fear to legalise it? What is it that you fear?
If you are a woman, then is it the fear that some of them men will visit it fearlessly? Of course they will, undoubtedly but haven’t they been visiting them in the sly till now? What difference does it make? Once an unfaithful man, always an unfaithful! If the men in your life hadn’t even given a glance at them till now, it is not because they feared prosecution (in today’s world, that is a laugh- I mean someone fearing a prosecution. No body really does) It was so because they loved you and cared for you . Changing the legal status will not change how they feel about you.
Or is it the fear that you have to share your social space with someone who might want to flaunt that she is one of the best escorts available? Do you think that someone would actually like to flaunt it? What are you imagining? Scholarships for bedside manners? National institute of passion and desire? Then I must really salute your extent of imagination. We are still stuck at legalisation , while you have flown ahead in to recognition. One doesn’t need a sixth sense to realise that prostitution is undesirable and demeaning to the dignity of a woman , if I have to use a neutral statement that is. By legalising we are not trying to enhance it, rather we will be just be giving her those benefits that allows her to live in dignity and with some minimum rights rather than being treated like an animal; just here what I have in my mind as an animal is the bull who is taken to an fro for servicing the cows.
If you are a man, you might be apprehensive that it might entice the women in your life for its lucrativeness (if there is such a word) and easy money? Forgive me for being crass , but do you really believe that it might seem lucrative and enjoyable? I am a female and I can tell you that the idea or thought of going to bed, day and night with some random lecherous strangers is revolting to say the least and it must be some really compelling reason that leads a girl to this. Even the behaviour of chasing the easy money in such a manner must be having a deep rooted psycho social reason, if you would like to point things in that perspective . If you want to counteract my argument with the word nymphomania, then my reply- nymphomaniacs will never do it for money. That’s basically a disease. Period.
So we need to rectify the circumstances that leads to the trap of easy money and glamour. For that you have to change the entire system , which I presume will take many years and no, legalisation will not worsen the situation, rather will bring a sort of transparency in the dealings. Now this is where I come to my ‘hows’. How it will benefit them?
No cops demanding bribes.
No pimps to exploit them.
HIV positive rates declines if you lay down some rules
They will come under the blanket cover of state responsibility and live without fear and with some iota of dignity. They can claim medical AID, and maybe with better legislation , a day may come when they might be able to say NO , when they feel like saying NO. But all these will happen only when they are legally accepted. I am not even considering the social aspect because I admit . for such a major social upheaval, one needs time, plenty of time, but legally, as a fellow human being, we do owe it to them to let them exist in dignity.
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@SANZEETA …
Well I am not Amit Srivastava whom u r looking for.
And again the same school of thought which somehow doesn’t click to me.
We want evrything goody goody.
slogans like India Shining and BHARAT UDAY will not maketh a difference till the time the we really start shining from within.
Just selling a crap in d new packet is what professing 🙂
hmm I know It will flourish till the time we would take our mind to something constructive rather then thinking of only LIBIDO DESIRES.
Yeah I am very much aware that it is one of the basic needs of a human being Roti, kapda, makan aur Sex but there should be some difference between a Man and a Dog.( MAN INCLUDES ALL HUMAN BEING INCLUDING THE FAIRER SEX TOO ) Isn’t it ?
Escort Services – do u think is this the viable option .. so let me tell u that most of the girls from a very good family are just stuck up in the vicious cycle of this rut of middle man and gangs just because at one point of time they did something and they are being blackmailed for it – so Just to save the dignity of their family and all they had to take this option and later on it becomes the habit.
It is somehow spoiling the culture, the traditions and the family teachings ..
A father or mother himself involved in this kind of activity, I am afraid what gonaa they teach their wards ?
You can’t say – son do not do it if u have enjoyed it at one point of tym urself.
So what I profess – there is need of complete reform ..
serials like Splitsvilaa and many more on MTv and many more channels are really contributing a lot to spread the dirt amongst the young brains of the Country.
But who gonna raise the voice ?
No 1 wanaa be ODD MAN OUT these days – it doesnt mean that Most of the young generation is liking it so d DIRT will get a good face ..
A DIRT WILL REMAIN A DIRT ONLY.
My teacher used to say – Hum sudhrengy jus sudhrega ..
so I jus apply it to myself ..
And if every single human being would do somethng of this sort – I am sure there is no doubt that we would be a Nation whose Youth has such a brilliant mind and good heart too.
I know it all sounds lil weird but afterall all IDEAS in the start looks the same.
🙂
I can jus wish for my country to improve and really proving the slogans like INDIA SHINING in all respects.
Amit:: u have mentioned SONAGACHI..have been to that place..work related .as the NGO working there was selected among in pan asia .but I somehow find that the tradition what you are speaking will indeed flourish but it will make the life a little comforatble …they wont be treated like outcaste. You must hear the 3rd gender prostitution pathetic situations..The society just need to treat them like human.. Their stories and every day strife by the so called normal society will make you think the normal society’s abnormal thoughts.. It takes a heart to believe them..and just think what they feel in them..
Amt:: u have mentioned SONAGACHI..have been to that place..work related .as the NGO working there was selected among in pan asia .but I somehow find that the tradition what you are speaking will indeed flourish but it will make the life a little comforatble …they wont be treated like outcaste. You must hear the 3rd gender prostitution pathetic situations..The society just need to treat them like human.. Their stories and every day strife by the so called normal society will make you think the normal society’s abnormal thoughts.. It takes a heart to believe them..and just think what they feel in them..
AMIT are u AMIT srivastava?
Thanks Amit for the additional data I will look it up as the subject is really a matter of importance.
However I would just like to point out that in my article I haven’t blamed anyone , but have just tried to dig into the psyche for reasons as to why the general populace are hesitant to support legalisation. Thanks for patiently reading the article and hope you keep on visiting
First of all I would like to admire the courage of author to scribble on such a SOCIAL ISSUE which is as old as humanity came into existence.
But I don’t know why SOCIETY MINUS FAIR SEX has been chosen a target to put all the blame on MALES.
With all the regards and honor to the Author, I would like to state here that it is not some male or female to be blamed for it. Whosoever does wrong, he or she is bad. There is no sexual discrimination of bad soul. Of course if sum1 is bad – either it would be HE or SHE as no option left. So why to point a finger towards MAN only .. not every1 is same .. and even if you do nt agree with my points then you could have mentioned in the beginning itself that the article is meant for only FAIRER SEX.
So let me tell you that to understand the pain of some1, u need nt be the same sex s you mentioned in your paragraph “if you are a man … as i am a female and let me tell you … ” , the only thing which is required to feel some1’s pain is a heart to understand and that is all.
…………..
Let me add some more to your article
First of all in India, prostitution (the exchange of sexual services for money) is legal, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are crimes.
…
Or in simple words A lady on her own desires and will can go for this profession but they can’t solicit or seduce the public for the same in public domain, this act shouldn’t be including any middle man, the act should not be done in 200Mtr premises of residential area, and running a brothel and managing it is also a NO NO …
these all has been stated in The primary law dealing with the status of sex workers is the 1956 law referred to as The Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act (SITA).
A new improvised act Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act – PITA is a 1986 amendment of legislation passed in 1956 but still lot of things are to be done.
Lots of NGOs are working on it. In an interesting and positive development in the improvement of the lives of female sex workers in Calcutta, a state-owned insurance company has provided life insurance to 250 individuals.
Many prostitutes are said to be underage, entering the sex trade as young as 12. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal states together account for 26% of the total number of prostitutes in the country. Child prostitution is a major problem in India involving around 1.2 million children with at-least 100 million people were involved in human trafficking in India. h
Much new knowledge on sex work in India came from the first major survey, in April 2011. This was performed by the Center for Advocacy on Stigma and Marginalisation (CASAM), which is part of SANGRAM, a major NGO that deals with sex workers.
One of my friend himself was working in SONAGACHI in Kolkata as a NGO before adorning Uniform. Lots of debates and plays are being organized to curb this social stigma but yes as every things takes time and the country like ours where Honorable Leaders like Manu Singhvi himself allegedly indulging themselves in such sleazy acts then why the Govt gonaa hear anything which gets something concrete for the betterment of society.
Though Prostitution, has been a theme in Indian literature and arts for centuries, Mrichakatika a ten-act Sanskrit play, was written by Śhudraka in the 2nd century BC. It entails the story of a courtesan Vasantsena. It was made into Utsav, a 1984 Hindi film. Amrapali (Ambapali) the nagarvadhu of the Kingdom of Vaishali famously became a Buddhist monk later in the life, a story retold in a Hindi film, Amprapali (1966).
Tawaif, or the courtesan in the Mughal era, has been a theme of a number of films including Pakeezah, Umrao Jaan , Tawaif , and Umrao Jaan (NEW VERSION). Other movies depicting lives of prostitutes and dancing girls are Sharaabi, Amar Prem ,Mausam, Devdas , Chandni Bar, Chameli, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag , and Dev D.
So I would thank Bollywood too for bringing out such issues.
But lot of things has yet to be done and more than anything else
Young generation is indulging in lots of such immoral activities like One Night Stand, Live In relationships, Escort Services and many more in which young boys and girls from very descent family , good educated class people, college students and Corporate world people are involved in this. Movies like METRO and all speaks a lot about such issues in our day to day life.
Somehow I feel in the rat race of earning money, competition to reach at the top in a very limited time frame , promotions , pay and perks young generation is forgetting the basic essence of life.
And terms like One Man Woman and One Woman Man has been a matter of FARCE.
The more you do, the better you are treated.
SOCIAL STATUS among peer group.
so all these thoughts need to be recycled then only something concrete will come otherwise BROTHELS would be abolished but ESCORT SERVICES will flourish.
Born into Brothels, a 2004 American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, Kolkata, won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 2004.[39]
Child prostitution is also an issue in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire