A Study of Badis Women and Prostitution

Go to article: Report: Dignity for Badis Women (2005)
Go to article: Badis Women and Prostitution (2004)
Go to article: Maoists Beat Badis Prostitutes(2006)
Go to article: HIV, Prostitution, and Caste System (1994)
Go to article: Economics of Badis Prostitution (1993)
Go to article: History of the Badis People
Go to article: Art Show at UN features drawings by women of the sex trade in Nepal

Editorial :Flesh Trade

No less than two hundred thousand Nepali women are working as prostitutes in various cities of India, and most of them are in Mumbai. Likewise, thousands of others have been trafficked to the Gulf and other Asian cities. And there are many other who are, directly or indirectly, involved in the flesh trade in the country. The majority of them work in cabin restaurants, dance restaurants or massage parlors. Thamel is the center where many such restaurants and parlors are located. Besides, the Badi women residing in five districts in the Western region of Nepal have not completely given up their profession despite the efforts of various non-governmental organizations to provide them alternative jobs.

All these figures clearly reveal one thing that is women in our country have taken up the profession because of more economic reason than anything else. They have been forced to sell their bodies to make a living and to support their family members. That the majority of women involved in the trade come from communities that are most backward corroborates to this fact. It can always be argued that prostitution cannot be done away. It exists even in well off societies and that we should not take the issue seriously. While the former may be true, we cannot agree that we should not take the matter seriously. There is one fundamental difference between the situations in the rich Western societies and poverty-stricken Nepal. The majority of women become prostitutes because they are forced to do so to make a living and/or to support their families. They have no choice but to take up such a profession to make their livings.

Until a few years ago, the men of Badi community let their wives to entertain clients. But this practice is changing now. Many Badi women have given up the profession. They have done so because they have been offered other opportunities to earn a living. The Badi case has proved that women can give up the flesh trade they have been practicing if they are provided with alternative opportunities. The government should come up with concrete and long term plans and programs to create employment opportunities, especially targeting the backward communities such as Badis and Tamangs. If the Badi women become unable to support themselves and their families by taking other jobs, they will be forced to get back to the same old profession. Unless the government comes up with concrete programs to empower them economically, no other effort -- including making the profession illegal -- is going to work.

Posted on: 2005-09-28
Source: ekantipur.com: