Sex Trade-A Boon or a Bane

                                                                   

Sex Trade-A Boon or a Bane

A woman’s body has always been an object of desire for men. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that there has emerged a special segregated class of women in the society, who offer their bodies to men for sexual relationships in exchange of some cash and make a living out of it. They are called sex workers or more commonly - ‘prostitutes’. 

Sex trade and prostitution is nothing new in our country. It’s rather an old wine sloshed into the new bottles because this tradition of women offering their bodies for money had existed since the times of the Kings of Ancient India who splurged money on tawaifs or courtesans and spent countless nights living their sexual fantasies in the company of these women. Today we get to hear new terms like ‘sex trafficking’, ‘flesh trade’, ‘call girls’ ‘red light areas’ and so on, but the basic concept remains the same.

The question here is – is it a boon for these women who are often illiterate to be able to make money out of selling their bodies and sometimes even their soul? Or is it a bane, because these women could have probably found more respectable ways to earn money had sex trade never existed? Is it a boon which keeps the lechers restricted to the brothels or a bane which will hamper the progress of women as individual identities?

Sex Trade: Why are women’s bodies on sale but not those of males?

In reality, sex trade usually refers to the trade of women’s bodies for sex and not that of men.  It has become a source of income for many women; most women happily don’t go into this kind of a business. If we delve into their past, this becomes more obvious. When a male visits a sex worker, his main target remains to make the most of the money he has paid to the worker while booking her for the night or say for few hours. He remains insensitive to her feelings and ravages her body and she is contract bound to give him what he wants in the fear of being dropped out of job by the brothel’s owner. 

So this sex trade is undoubtedly a trade of the woman’s body where a woman has to kill her feelings, withstand pain as part of her job and allow the brothel owner to do business with her or rather trade with her body by sending customers to her bed whom she entertains mechanically for money. 

T.S Eliot’s Preludes manages to say it right: “You tossed a blanket from the bed/You lay upon your back and waited/You dozed and watched the night revealing/The thousand sordid images”

Legalizing Sex Trade: Pros & Cons

Sex workers are fighting throughout the country to legalize sex trade and many NGOs are coming forward to uphold their cause. Legalizing of sex trade, however, is a much debatable subject. It has its own pros and cons. 

If sex trade is legalized, sex workers will no longer be considered a minority; legalization will allow them to gain a wider social perspective by means of quantifying themselves but many of them also seek for an intellectual recognition in society far beyond the mere flesh. Many of them come with brains, have an intellectual bent of mind which unfortunately no one sees apart from their body and mere legalization cannot wipe the stigma that society puts on them. 

Legalization of sex trade, however, can restrict the criminalizing of sex trade and can also secure the future of sex workers by pulling some governmental benefits and claims in their favour.

Sex Trade: If legalized, will it be a boon or bane?

Whether Sex trade is a boon or a bane is a very relative question. Some poverty stricken women are earning a living through it. For them, perhaps it’s a boon because they have no other means to make a steady income. Many destitute girls are getting shelters and for them too it is a boon. 

But the grimmer side of it is exposed only when women & girls are kidnapped and forcibly brought into this profession. They are beaten up and forced to entertain customers. Also it becomes a bane when the sex workers while practicing their profession contract some dangerous life-taking sexually transmitted disease like AIDS or get pregnant and go through horror stories of blotched abortions and no one is ready to take their responsibility. In such situations legal backing is indeed needed. 

If sex trade is legalized, these women might have better rights and maybe even a better quality of life. But one darker side of legalization is that once these women become legalized sex workers, they might have to forget their individual identity as woman!

Feminism - Abused and Overrated

The very word ‘Feminism’ at once stirs up an interest in us; it’s been one of the most burning topics for the last two decades. Feminism – it’s a movement that started out as a way to fight for the rights of Indian women, helping them climb up the social ladder so they could enjoy gender equality in social, political, educational, professional and all other important spheres of life. However, today it has become an ambiguous term that seems to have lost its power, acting more as an irritant that has been over-used and abused for way too long.

The society throughout the world has always allowed men to enjoy a stronger position when compared to women, while women were always considered subordinate. The picture was grimmer in India and inhuman rituals and customs like Sati, Child marriage etc were practiced. With an iconic movement like Feminism, revolutionary changes came in to the society and the story of women repression and suppression could be managed to a great extent.

Unfortunately, today feminism is misinterpreted, and the hope & promise that it showed at its dawn appears to dim out. And the people who are responsible for this are undoubtedly the present day feminism activists. Today’s feminism activists lack the earlier spark, dedication & fervor. They are no more than fanatic feminists. Does that mean it’s time to put a stop to feminism?

Rise & Origin of Feminism
The Feminist movement originated in the year 1840 in the West and the sole goal was women liberation by rising over the patriarchy. The movement falls into 3 distinct ‘Waves’. The first wave also called suffragette movement (late 1800s-early 1900s) focused on securing women suffrage, right to property and some other vital Fundamental Rights for Women that would help them to achieve political equality and be at par with the men. The second wave (1960s-1970s) is a crucial landmark in the feminist movement. The entire Feminist Iconography is often believed to rest on the second wave. During this phase issues like rape, sexual harassment, reproductive rights for women were brought to the lime light. The third wave feminism with its top issues like Gender identity, class, race, queerness came up around 1990s.

Whatever gaps in the feminist movement were there were addressed in the third wave and this third wave ultimately broadened into the modern day full spectrum feminist movement that deals with gender intersection, sexuality, class, race etc issues with a more holistic approach.

Society preyed by Feminist Fanatics
In our society there is no end to fanaticism and Feminist fanatics is another addition to the list. They are hysterical man-haters who raise hullabaloo on issues that upset the natural biological, rather God-determined roles, of man and woman and these fanatics today are perfect examples of female hostility towards men. With the huge number of Feminist Fanatics today, it has really become difficult to implement the right Feminist theories or achieve the set goals.

Why is ‘feminism’ becoming more of an irritant?
In many circumstances or for many people ‘feminism’ today has become more of an irritant because the origin of Feminism was to teach a woman to be liberated, to be conscious of her rights and establish it. It taught her that she is equal to her man in all respects with only minor differences of stature and physical strength. However today, Feminists keep insisting that women should raise a hue and cry every time her rights are ignored, or she feels repressed, and often times this exaggerated affair is not really to help the distressed woman but actually to create more publicity and turn more and more women in to active feminists.

Fact is, In India there are many women who love their womanly duties, their family; their house and even within the bounds of a house they can live a liberated life provided they are happy with their husband and their children. They don’t need to be ‘liberated’ only because they don’t want to do the same jobs as the men in their lives. And this is a concept that many feminists do not respect. Additionally, instead of trying to resolve family matters that could be a result of misunderstanding between man and wife, most feminists want to take extreme measures. Rather than trying to restore family balance, they often encourage women to take extreme steps against their husbands and fathers, resulting in severed families and destroyed relationships.

Negative impact of abused feminism on peaceful relationships
Women who are motivated by the Feminist Fanatics of today need to realize that their actions are having adverse impact on peaceful relationships in many ways:

•    Some women start misbehaving and dominating their husbands, encouraged by feminists who misinterpret feminism and their rights, pressurizing their partners to fulfill all their unjust demands. This creates an atmosphere of utter disharmony in the family
•    Some suffer from soaring superiority complex and ego that ultimately gives a death blow to their relationship
•     Some if unhappy with their present partner and looking for an excuse to end the relationship misuse feminism by bringing in fake rape, domestic violence or other assault charges against their present partner. This is nothing but Feminism fraud.

Is it time to draw the line?
Today, modern feminists really need to revise their approach. Feminism is gender warfare for acquiring equal rights for both genders. It does not tell a woman to abhor a man. Feminists really need to draw the line where they start propagating Women’s rights to punish a man for violence etc. This is where the theory tends to be misunderstood or abused by the Feminist Fanatics.

In other words a true feminist is a woman who exercises her rights or uses the theory to the extent she is a humanist; her propagandas and campaigns should never tear happy families apart.

The Traditional Indian Woman - A Boon or a Bane?

If you take a closer look around you, you’ll realize that the traditional Indian woman is very different from her western counterparts. For those who have traveled the world and had the chance to meet women from different countries and cultures, it may come as a surprise that the characteristics of the typical Indian woman, and their sublime qualities like unquestionable forbearance, sacrifice and  sense of morality and virtue stands out. The traditional India woman is truly unique, but is that a boon or a bane?

The uniqueness of the traditional Indian woman:
When you think of a traditional Indian woman, the three things that first come to mind are poise, elegance and grace. The Indian woman has been reared and groomed to be nurturing, caring, and honorable. They are expected to hold a family together and to take a back seat to the whims of their husbands and fathers, and in most households they do not have an equal relationship with the men of the house. It is ingrained in to them since childhood that their duty is to fulfil their role as a wife, mother and sister, by putting their needs behind those for whom they care. While some may say this gives the Indian woman a matchless identity, others would not be wrong in saying that the traditional Indian woman has been born and bred to be repressed.

In all earnest, the Indian woman is not without weaknesses. While she has the inner strength to withstand a lot of emotional and physical distress in order to fulfill all the roles she plays, she often doesn’t have the strength and conviction to stand up against what she believes is wrong.  She feels she cannot overstep her boundaries and try to change the society she lives in, even when she doesn’t believe in the rules herself.

Is it time for the traditional Indian woman to change?
It comes as no surprise that the traditional Indian woman puts up with domestic abuse – be it physical, mental or emotion, as her fate. She believes that she cannot question the rules of the society, which is why a large percentage of all abusive marriages go unreported till date. It is time that the traditional Indian woman understands that the role she plays in this society is indispensable, and she has nothing to fear by voicing her opinion and drawing attention to the issues that are a cause for concern. Be it female infanticide, child abuse, sexual abuse or domestic violence, there is no reason for the Indian woman to maintain a stoic facade and bear with what can only be termed as ‘torture’. 

She needs to transform her thinking and understand that she doesn’t need to cast in a stereotype by the society. She has the right to be appreciated for who she is and encouraged for any steps she might want to take to bring about a positive change in her life. It is time that the Indian woman changes her mental outlook about her role, and understands that she has the right to stand up for what she believes in rather than give in to domestic drudgery. It isn’t worth caring about what others may think of her, but it’s more important to be a person she is proud to be.