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Prostitution has been embedded into the cultural history of the
Indian sub-continent since
time immemorial. Jahangirs harem is said to have 6000
mistresses, including women from
China, the Caucuses and Africa Prostitutes were well read, well
versed in poetry and the art of
singing and dancing.
The decline of Mughal power and its subsequent replacement by
the Sikh rule in Punjab
removed the social taboo form prostitution and brought it out in
the open. After the termination
of Sikh rule, the arrival of the British brought a new breed of
prostitutes patrons. According to
S.Ghauri (Pakistan cultural centre struggles with its history,
August 14, 2003), It is not a
connection that mainstream society is willing to acknowledge
openly. Today the Shahi
Mohalla has fallen into decline and has, in the words of Yusuf
Salahuddin, a landlord who
owns substantial property in the heera mandi, become an area
overrun with just common
prostitution.(Personal Communication, November 2003) Hence, this
tradition managed to
survive during the British period and is existent in Pakistani
culture and society till date. The
spread of prostitution at an unprecedented scale raises critical
issues regarding the rationalefor laws, which cannot be enforced,
and about the element of bigotry in treating social issues as
matters of law and order .According to I.A.Rehman; a prominent
lawyer in Pakistan and director
of the countrys Human Rights Commission We are a society of
hypocrites. The morality of the
privileged prohibits any recognition of the importance of this
area (Shahi Mohalla) to the arts
(Personal Communication, October 2003). Apart from this the
latest commission on the status
of women (Women's Right Commission, 2002), takes note of
prostitution in the following words:
"Enforced prostitution and trafficking in women are forms of
violence for profit to which a
number of women are subjected. Enforced prostitution of girls
has always been in existence;
with very few being able to escape the net even if they wish to
do so. However, very little has
been done to stem the practice or to rehabilitate the victims of
the crime..."
The following are some of the solutions that can be implemented
to stem the growth of
prostitution:
Judges in all official courts of Pakistan should put the
offenders on probation, which include
treatment as mentioned in the above point. If probation is
violated then the maximum jail
sentence should be applied
Misdemeanor Probation Officers should hold those engaged in
prostitution activity strictly to the
terms of their probation. Work closely with the police and
expedite violations. Make an extra
effort to help the probationer enter into any treatment programs
and provide appropriate social
service referrals. They should have an on-call probation officer
available 24 hours a day, whom
police can call to arrange for immediate violations of
probationers, so police can take the
person immediately to jail.
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Neighborhood residents and businesses should report any sort of
illegal activities. They should
contact police every time a prostitute is observed or
prostitution activity is noted. Businesses
should work closely with the police in trespass-warning
program.
Hence, this social evil can only be rooted from Islamic society
if it is indeed recognized as an
evil. Muslims pretend oblivion to the flesh market as they
ignore many other evils that tarnish
the image of Islam and the high moral standards that are
expected of Muslims. When
prostitution would be stated as a problem; a debatable topic on
all public forums and prostitutes
would not be regarded as 'taboo' and taken as victimized women
only then would we be able to
effectively terminate the flesh market. For the time being, all
we can do is hope.
References
BOOKS
Saeed, F. (2002). Taboo
MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Elizabeth S.Ghauri (2003). The Christian Science Monitor.
