Prostitutes in this country, undaunted by threats from devout Muslims, say they must stay in business to survive. To make a living is the primary instinct and cardinal principle of every human being. We have accepted the challenge. Khanam criticized recent attempts by orthodox Muslim groups to demolish brothels in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh, an overwhelmingly Muslim country of million people.
Protests against prostitution turned into open confrontation late last year when about 10, orthodox Muslims attacked two brothels in Narayanganj, 12 miles from Dhaka. Many have been forced into prostitution, sometimes by unscrupulous relatives.
Sociologists blame their plight partly on abject poverty in the overpopulated countryside, where many men have more than one wife but are unable to feed their children. The Muslim protesters in Narayanganj suspended their campaign, at least temporarily, after the prostitutes threatened to stage a march in the nude and organize other protests. Is anyone out there who really wants a whore in his family?
The government is working to create more jobs for women as alternatives to prostitution, a Manpower Ministry official said. Business at the brothels has dropped because customers fear violence or humiliation at the hands of protesters. Last November, the Home Interior Ministry announced a drive to take children out of the brothels.
The campaign would start after a January survey was completed of the total number of children living in brothels, a ministry official said. Many girls from Narayanganj brothels have moved to cheap hotels or rented houses to continue their trade. Others have shifted to red-light districts in Dhaka.
