By Neetu Suthar
I was born innocent
I wanted to live as an immortal Scent
But some gourmands
fade away this thought
I am named as a prostitute
I am looked as a matter of defame
In the valley of darkness
Inside the monster walls
where the hope crawls
I dream to live as a free soul
Prostitution, going by the meaning, it is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. A person who works in this field is referred to as prostitute.
According to Human Rights Watch, there are approximately 15 million prostitutes in India. There are more than 100,000 women in prostitution in Bombay, Asia’s largest industry centre. When we hear the words like largest, biggest we often feel proud but here situation is just the opposite. I got crimps on my forehead when I saw that this problem is swelling like anything.
What is the reason that forces women to get into this stigma? Undoubtedly, this is not amongst the options out of many professions.
What seems to be more alarming is the escalation in trafficking of children.
Globalization, feminisation of poverty, a rise in sex tourism, all this has contributed to an increase in trafficking.
Prostitution is vaguely defined in India as according to many internet sources, prostitution is legal but prostitution in any public place is illegal. Shocking? Right. It is just like you tie someone’s hand and ask him to swim. How far does it make sense, prostitution is legal but brothels are illegal.
Legalizing prostitution or decriminalizing the entire industry just sends out a message that women are objects for sexual use and that situation is harmless fun. And legalization does not control the sex industry, it expands it.
Condition of state of Victoria, Australia will explain it more clearly. Prostitution has become an accepted sideline of tourism and casino boom. The commoditisation of women has vastly intensified and is much more visible.
Source: www.isha.org.il/eng/docs/P180/
What is needed is a multi -prolonged strategy which can help in curbing this menace and which has scope for rescue and rehabilitation processes.
After all, prostitution is an act of violence against women and it can’t be tolerated at all.
An often repeated cause of prostitution is poverty; the helplessness of women forces them to sell their bodies. How much heart -wrenching it sounds? Reality has much darker face than this. Other causes include coercion, ill treatment by parents, lack of sex education and in some cases greed and dejection also.
