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A SOCIO–ECONOMIC ENQUIRY INTO THE CONDITIONS OF PROSTITUTES IN INDIA
MRS. JAYANTHI JEYASEELAN
Social Worker, India
INTRODUCTION
There are diverse ways in which the phenomenon of prostitution is organized in India.
Sex outlets are spread across Indian cities, with a concentration of sex work in major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkatta and Mumbai. Responding to both sexual and socio-economic needs, semi-organized
prostitution has become more diversified and subtle in expression. An understanding of these diverse forms is thus essential to comprehend the working of the sex industry in Indian cities.
It is, therefore,
worthwhile to present the salient observations made in a study by the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene, Chennai branch, so that we can make a few broad recommendations for the control of prostitution, and
determine what further research projects may be undertaken to throw more light on the problem; enabling those in authority to draw up plans for an effective social defense.
BACKGROUND
Though the Devadasi (female ritual specialist — temple dancer and sexual initiator —dedicated to the god of the temple) system is an anachronism in modern civilization, one-third of the common prostitutes
interviewed in a study were found to be devadasi, most of whom were dedicated to the goddess Yellamma. It was observed that dedication of girls was still prevalent among the backward communities, predominantly the
Harijans (formerly known as Untouchables, also called Dalits), in the rural areas. We draw the attention to the fact that in spite of the law prohibiting the dedication of the girls as devadasi, many are being
dedicated and virtually forced into prostitution. It is also noticed that prostitution has been so much the accepted way of life with the devadasi that they not only enter it irrespective of other background
factors, but also claim that they have a right to prostitute. Thus, it may be said that the devadasi system conspicuously augments the problem of prostitution. We further suspect that the devadasi may be responsible
— to what extent we can not say — in influencing the non-devadasi into prostitution, for the majority of both these groups come from the same region namely, Mysore State.
In the areas of Mumbai where
prostitution is tolerated, we find prostitutes from almost all parts of the country, even from places outside the Indian Territory. More than half hail from Mysore State — Bijapur, South Kanara and Belgaum districts
— which are the highest represented areas of the state.
India being predominantly populated by Hindus, it is not surprising that 86 percent of the prostitutes are Hindus. However, it is worth noting that
nearly half of the Hindu prostitutes are Harijans, which calls for an intensive programme of social uplift among these communities in particular.
About 10 percent of the respondents were found to be literate,
and a vast majority of the women interviewed were graded as mentally average. They should, therefore, make a strong case for compulsory education for girls, not with a view to making them merely literate, but to
educate them for a responsible adult life.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
A large majority of the prostitutes in the city brothels are from the rural areas and belong to poor peasant families, which are mostly
single families. We may safely infer that the common prostitute, considered to be the lowest class of prostitute, is largely a woman from the lowest social and economic cadre. But it is only on the basis of the
comparative study of the lives of other women of the same socio-economic group and from the same regions, who lead a respectable life, that one can adequately explain, in terms of particular causes, the deviational
behaviour of the common prostitute. The study, however, does not fully support the general presumption that the single most important cause of prostitution is poverty.
The case histories generally indicated
that a large majority of the respondents were brought up indifferently, and gave no evidence of any binding attachment having existed between family members; at least not between the respondents and their family
members. In many instances, the data suggested that family ties were so precariously loose or uncertain that the respondents could leave their homes without much hesitation or a feeling of separation, and with more
trust and hope in a new acquaintance — the procurer or the paramour — than in their own kith and kin. This behavior is the result of insufficient communion between the family members for the development and
nourishing of healthy relationships. In most cases, either the parents or guardians worked from dawn to dusk, and had no time for the children who, with no guidance, schooling or healthy occupation to keep them
busy, were left to grow up as they may. They were left open to the hazards of evil influences, and free to indulge their uncontrolled, often misguided, adolescent fancies and temptations.
It was observed that
the lack of guidance and guardianship of the respondents in the developmental years was largely related to the problem of broken homes. Nearly two-thirds of the girls had lost either one or both of their parents
before entering into prostitution, and in majority of the cases, were less than ten years of age when the death of the parent(s) occurred. Most of these respondents grew up as unwanted children, grudgingly brought
up by relatives who did not care for them. Others had never known the warmth of love and the security of a home, and grew up on the streets. That very few orphaned girls received the protection of children’s homes
points to the gross inadequacy of facilities provided for the protection of homeless and unwanted children in these rural areas. Perhaps destitution is regarded more as an urban problem! When the girls matured,
destitution rendered them helpless since they lacked the strength and confidence to face life alone, and they were ill-equipped for it due to lack of education, enlightenment, vocational training, etc., all of which
help an individual become self-reliant.
MARTIAL STATUS
About two-thirds of the non-devadasi are married women, of whom girls widowed at an early age and runaway wives form a large
majority. Most of the married respondents were unhappily married — ill treatment, drunkenness and unfaithfulness of the husband being the major causes of marital discord. It was observed that unequal matches were
responsible to a considerable extent for such marital disharmony.
More than half of the women who remained unmarried were not married because there was no one sufficiently interested in seeing them settled in
life, and this was mainly an outcome of the problem of broken homes.
LEAVING HOME AND ENTERING INTO PROSTITUTION
Less than two-thirds of the women were working regularly, mostly as field
laborers, before becoming prostitutes. About half gave up their most recent jobs with the definite idea of entering the business.
Over half the women left home between the ages of 11 and 20 years; the model
age group being 15–17 years–old for the non-devadasi, and 13–14 years–old for the devadasi. All the devadasi, and nearly half of the non-devadasi, left their homes for the purpose of prostitution. About one-third of
the non-devadasi seem to have left their homes and entered the brothels under conditions which may be broadly termed as, ‘involuntary.’ That is, due to deception, kidnapping or being forced into the profession with
no choice whatever. What is more significant, however, is that the other two-thirds seem to have left their homes and taken to prostitution of their own volition, in as much as they did not resist becoming
prostitutes, even if they did not actively volunteer to do so. How many of them were actually aware of the full implications of the life they had chosen to enter we cannot exactly say. Those who informed them about
the business, or influenced their decision to enter it, had colorfully described prostitution as an easy and paying profession, and said, “all that they had to do was to sleep with men.” Considering the ages of the
girls when they entered the brothels and their personal and family backgrounds, we do not think many of them knew fully what they had opted for: it seems that they merely fell for the ‘glamour’ of the profession. In
most instances, we find that it was a momentary decision rather than a carefully considered step that led them into the flesh houses.
CAUSES OF PROSTITUTION
An analysis of the causes of
prostitution in the cases studied shows that social causes like bad influences, deception and environmental factors form the most recurring group of contributory causes. While bad influences is the most outstanding,
single contributory cause, low moral values and ignorance, the next highest contributory causes, easily explain why the women succumb to the evil influences of procurers and prostitutes.
Among the major
predisposing factors, the causes that occur most frequently are ill treatment — mainly by husbands, destitution, illicit sexual relations, poverty, desire for an easy life, unfaithfulness of the husband, and unhappy
family relations. The order in which they are listed indicates their relative importance. The direct or precipitating causes, in the order of their frequency, are bad influences, deception, environmental factors and
the desire for an easy life.
It is observed that whereas domestic happiness, which primarily revolves around the question of family relations, constitutes the major predisposing factor in prostitution, the
influence of those who are in the business is the most direct reason the women are led into vice. At a psychologically vulnerable moment, when the women are unhappy or dissatisfied with their life situations, as in
the case of ill-treated wives, widows without support, or unwanted and uncared for girls, the procurers cleverly play traffickers. For it is they who lend the women the much-needed emotional support: possibly
‘retired’ prostitutes are mainly and directly responsible for precipitating the problem by converting these vulnerable women into prostitutes.
We are strongly inclined to believe that there are regular vice
rackets operating in these rural areas with many women working to supply girls to the city brothels. They appear to be very active and alert in spotting and netting the unhappy girls, for the average price of a girl
in the vice markets is between Rs.5,000–10,000 (just over 100USD to just over 200USD). Women traffickers make vice racket operations easy and less suspicious, rendering vigilance work more difficult.
Once the
girls go or are brought to the brothels, most seem to accept prostitution without much protest or hesitation. When large numbers of women are seen engaging in it, the awareness of the grimness and shame attached to
prostitution is lost, and the new recruits feel encouraged to ‘taste the forbidden fruit’ and to live on it — it becomes a trade and is no more considered immoral and antisocial behaviour. Thus the existence of an
area where prostitution is tolerated not only promotes the functioning of vice rackets, but also positively encourages vulnerable young women to enter into the fold of common prostitutes.
THE PRESENT SITUATION
Life in the profession is by no means satisfying to most prostitutes. The living conditions are indeed unhealthy and the majority of the women earn only a meager income of
Rs.3,000–5,000 (just under 70USD to just over 100USD) per mensem (month). A substantial number of women were suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. In spite of these and other distressing conditions, less
than 10 percent of the women were willing to give up their profession for a respectable job. This is because most of the women are so inured to the easy and lazy life in prostitution that they can no longer think of
working again. Many of them even said, “We like this free life.” They seem to have no interest outside their limited sphere of existence and perhaps have lost touch with the ‘respectable’ world. About half of them
maintain cordial relations with their families in their native place and visit them regularly, or at least occasionally. Another factor that probably accounts for their unwillingness to leave the profession is that
in many instances, the relations between the brothel keepers and the prostitutes are friendly and cordial. Not infrequently, the women reported that their brothel owners were like ‘mother’ to them, and so, they
perhaps find a sort of security even in the brothel life! In a way, this too indicates that above all human beings need the security of being wanted and cared for.
THE MISTRESSES
The
institution of mistresses is mostly traditional to 92 percent of the respondents in the study. It has a religious background, in the case of the Naik(ins) (a Hindu caste), who constitute the vast majority among the
kept women. They are dedicated women, and it is a profession handed down from generation to generation in the case of the singing girls. While all the kept women are Hindus, nearly equal numbers of Hindus and
Muslims are found among the singing girls.
Literacy among mistresses is as high as 76 percent. Unlike the common prostitutes, they come from economically better off homes and about 84 percent of them said
that they led fairly comfortable lives in their parental homes. The relations between the family members were stated to be cordial by almost all of the respondents. It is seen that on the whole, the mistresses were
brought up under comparatively easier conditions than the common prostitutes. Living as mistresses being their traditional way of life, all of them, except the few non-traditional mistresses, were initiated into it
by their own family members or near relatives.
The majority of mistresses earn Rs.5,000–10,000 (just over 100USD to just over 200USD) per mensem (month), and on the whole their housing conditions are
satisfactory. Nearly 50 percent of their paramours are middle-aged men, over 70 percent of them being businessmen. Most of the sects are Hindus, and among them the Gujeratis (from the Indian State of Gujarat), are
predominantly mentioned by the kept women. It is interesting to note that about two-thirds of these lovers are married men with families living in the city.
About 90 percent of the mistresses said that they
were not interested in anything beyond their routine lives, and most said that they would continue as mistresses. However, a majority of the kept women and about one-third of the singing girls said that they would
have preferred to be married.
It seems that the dedication of girls and concubines is very much on the decline in the Naik (a Hindu caste) community, thanks to the efforts of the NGOs and the educated and
enlightened members of the community. The profession of the singing girls seems to be still flourishing, the fine arts of singing and dancing serving as a cloak to hide the ugliness and tragedy of their lives.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Since the vast majority of prostitutes in the city are women from rural areas, preventive work has to be done mainly at the village level. The first important step will be to
have a well-planned intensification of rural welfare programs, with the major objectives of promoting the solidarity and well being of the family and making the individual, particularly the women, self-reliant. It
is obvious that such a program needs to be of practical educational value to the individual, and help her in coping with the day-to-day problems of living.
Illiteracy and ignorance being an outstanding
contributory cause of prostitution, we would like to emphasize the importance of compulsory education, not with a view to making them merely literate, but to educate them for responsible adult life. Vocational
training and guidance should to be an important part of this program, so that the women will be able to make an independent living, if, and when the need arises, as in cases of destitution, widowhood, etc. Perhaps
the introduction and proper implementation of the basic educational system, oriented to the special needs of particular communities or regions, will be useful in tackling this problem.
May we also stress the
importance of planning and providing welfare services, taking the family as the basic unit or nucleus, for many times, particularly in matters of relationships, the family remains an invisible unit. Unhappy family
relations and marital discord seems to be as vexing a problem in the rural home as in the sophisticated urban family. Hence it is necessary to introduce counseling agencies adapted to suit the rural setting in order
to help these families resolve their problems. Such agencies can be in the form of a group of elders of the village popularly chosen for the purpose, or a specially appointed committee of the village panchayat
(council), assisted by trained workers. Initially it may be difficult to get these families to refer their personal problems to such agencies. However, since we know how successfully procurers identify the unhappy
girls, we believe it will not be difficult for trained social workers to seek out cases, until the usefulness of the service is impressed upon the villagers.
While the study highlights the acuteness of the
problems of working mothers and their neglected children, no easy solutions can be suggested without a full knowledge of conditions in particular villages. However, we suggest that efforts may be made to provide
lucrative occupations to the mothers of young children, after giving them adequate training through a program to promote the development of rural and cottage industries; an area which is fast gaining prominence in
our national economy. Such an arrangement will enable them to work and supplement the family income without sacrificing the duties of motherhood and family life.
Having seen what major contributions broken
homes and destitution make towards prostitution, we think it is imperative to establish more children’s homes for the wholesome care and upbringing of orphaned and unwanted children in the rural areas. Child and
youth welfare programs suitable for villages, especially those providing healthy recreational facilities to the children, may also be introduced, or encouraged where they already exist.
We have also seen that
the low moral values of the women or their families are a conspicuous contributory factor leading to prostitution. Perhaps the concepts of morality, propagated through religion by employing threats of Hell and
promises of Heaven, are losing their hold on the modern mind; but no progressive society can overlook the importance and urgency of evolving healthy substitute methods of inculcating in the young sound ideals, and a
sense of values based on the realities of life. Research may be undertaken to ascertain community views on sex, marriage and morality in order to draw up adequate mental health programs.
Illicit sexual
relations and illegitimate pregnancy, as was observed by the study, drives many desperate young women into the arms of the procurers. Therefore, it is necessary to provide adequate facilities in the villages for the
rescue and rehabilitation of ‘fallen women.’
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation of prostitutes essentially means their re-adaptation to normal life. It is obvious that without the cooperation of the
prostitutes this objective cannot be achieved. The fact that only about nine percent of the respondents want to return to respectable life is not very heartening, therefore, we feel skeptical about the possibilities
of rehabilitation of prostitutes on a large scale. And this fact all the more impresses upon us the need, desirability and feasibility of an intensive preventive program.
At present, prostitutes in the
tolerated areas seem to be the most neglected lot: no social service agencies take an active interest in them; they live in a world of their own, cut off from respectable life. Perhaps a ‘weaning’ center with
recreational facilities, simple handicrafts, literacy classes and other light and interesting activities might attract them, and thus, bring the participating women into close and continuous contact with social
workers, who may then explore the possibilities of facilitating their return to normal life. Since a large number of prostitutes — nearly half of the respondents — maintain cordial relations with their families in
their native places, the possibilities of settling them back into their homes may also be considered. It seems that elderly prostitutes will be more amenable to rehabilitation, for they appeared to be more concerned
and worried about their future when they could no more be in the profession. Their rehabilitation would considerably reduce the number of women working as procurers and brothel-keepers, since it is these elderly
prostitutes who, out of sheer necessity, are involved in such activities.
CONCLUSION
The major findings of the study clearly indicate that prostitution is, to a considerable extent,
preventable. While raising the social and economic standards of life, a familiar preventive measure suggested for all social ills, is the basic remedy for prostitution also, the few broad measures we have
recommended may be of advantage in achieving the desired ends with regard to this problem.
Considering the number of girls who are tempted into prostitution “by seeing so many others engaged in it,” the
desirability of gradually abolishing the tolerated areas cannot be over estimated. This can be realized only through active vigilance work to ensure that no new recruits are brought in; difficult though such work
may be.
Public cooperation is perhaps the most important factor in fighting any social evil. The popular view on prostitution seems to be that it is a ‘necessary evil,’ which reflects more the indifferent, if
not tolerant, attitude of the people towards the problem, rather than its inevitability. A study of current social attitudes towards prostitution is, therefore, necessary in order to formulate a program for arousing
public opinion against vice, and for securing the active cooperation of the people in tackling the problem.
Prostitution necessarily involves two parties, namely, the prostitutes and their customers; and in
organized vice, third parties — brother-keepers, procurers and pimps, to mention only the important ones — also play a prominent part. The problem has so far been viewed and studied mostly by focusing attention on
the prostitutes. We believe that a study of the men involved in prostitution as customers, procurers and pimps, is of equal importance for a full understanding of the problem, and in planning a multi-pronged attack
on this evil.
Incidentally, we may also point out that while the law holds that soliciting by prostitutes is an offense, the fact that men openly seek the company of prostitutes, as is happening today in the
tolerated areas, is no more an offense than going to the cinema or to a restaurant. Such leniency and discrimination will perhaps be explained away by citing well-known technicalities, like the difficulty of
producing sufficient evidence against such men. But unless and until strict action is also taken to deter men from visiting prostitutes, there does not seem to be much hope for the effective control of prostitution.
BIOGRAPHY:
Jayanthi Jeyaseelan, a social worker in India, specializes in reaching and rehabilitating prostitutes, and other women ‘outcasts’ in the Indian society.
She is a well known social worker and an AIDS activist. She has been working very closely with various government agencies at home and abroad for the purpose of rescuing and rehabilitating women in prostitution trade and people infected with aids virus.
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