Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim countries in the world where prostitution is legal. It was demolished in , but has been established again with the help of local NGOs. The women themselves demonstrated for their rights as workers, and so at the end of , the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association convinced the High Court that the eviction of the sex workers was an illegal act.
The sex workers quickly returned to their homes. In the narrow streets, there are food stalls, tea shops and street vendors. The brothel is a place with its own rules and hierarchies of power which are completely different from mainstream society.
For example, inside the brothels, the women are weak but also powerful. Bonded girls are usually 12 to 14 years old. These girls come from poor families and are often victims of trafficking. They have no freedom or rights. They belong to a madam, have debts and are not allowed to go outside or keep their money. When they have paid all their debts, which takes somewhere between one to five years, they become independent sex workers. Then, they can refuse customers and keep their own money.
From the moment that a woman has paid her debts, she is free to leave the brothel. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
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