Wednesday 4 June 2014

Yes to Decriminalization, No to Legalization




Posted on: December 15, 2009


Sex Trade Demeans Men more than Women.

    First Published in : The Indian Express December 15, 2009




While dealing with a PIL filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan about large scale child trafficking in the country, a bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice AK Pattnaik are reported to have advised the Solicitor General, “When you say it is the world’s oldest profession and when you are not able to curb it by laws. Why don’t you legalize it.?”

It is noteworthy that the judges were not dealing with those women who take to this profession as a choice but children who are abducted, trapped, bought and sold by criminal mafias to be inducted into the flesh trade.I am left wondering whether the Hon’ble judges of the Supreme Court intend to legalize child trafficking as well—all because our government agencies are unable and unwilling to curb the criminal mafias who are pushing vulnerable children from impoverished families into the flesh trade.

It is extremely misleading to describe prostitution as one of the "oldest professions" in history. Even today there are numerous communities world over, including in India, which have no history of prostitution. Many do not even have a word to describe it. This demeaning form of transaction between men and women is characerstick of those societies which take a very perverse view of male sexuality. The assumption is that men being men, they are unable to control their sexual urges and therefore they need all kinds of avenues for satisfying their insatiable hunger for sex with mutiple partners.It also assumes that men should not be expected to take responsibility for out of wedlock progeny. Women have to bear the brunt of "illegtimate" births. This perverse mindset that takes a very lowly view of male sexuality and moral fibre and expects society at large and women in particular to be 
indulgent towards their irresponsible behaviour. Using this logic even rape is often justified on grounds that the man concerned was unable to control his sexual urge or that a woam asked for it. I am convinced no self respecting man will use such a cynical view of male sexuality which amount to declaring men unfit for socially responsible behaviour. Most self respecting men view sex trade being more demeaning for men than for women. That is why some of the strongest voices against prostitution in literature, cinema and in social reform movements have come from men.

There are compelling reasons to decriminalize prostitution for the following categories of persons: 
a) Those that enter the sex trade voluntarily—as do many high society call girls—simply because if a person wishes to enter into a demeaning relationship with another for monetary or other favours, there is no way the government can stop the practice because it is enacted in private; 
 b) Those that gravitate towards this profession due to poverty related reasons or abusive family circumstances because such victims of circumstances ought not be treated as criminals.

It is well acknowledged that arrests and rescue operations by the police are mostly a theatrical exercise to keep the terror alive so that the sex workers and pimps dare not resist paying bribes. Therefore, draconian laws put in the hands of the police add to the problem instead of curbing prostitution. 

However, no self respecting society can afford to “legalize” the dehumanization of millions of those who have been coerced into flesh trade through force, fraud, abduction or violence. 

Till the early 1990’s defense of the right of prostitutes came mainly from feminist groups and those gender sensitive men who argued that laws penalizing prostitutes amounted to punishing the victims while letting off their male clients who exploited their poverty and vulnerability.  Many of them demanded laws that punished men who trafficked in women as well as men who live off prostitutes as pimps and those who visit them as clients.

However, in recent years the discourse on the subject have undergone sea-changes due to the scare of AIDs in first world countries. This has led billions of dollars, pounds and Euros as well as other resources being directed towards “safe sex practices”, with special focus on condom use among sex workers.  From Prince Charles to Bill Gates to Hollywood stars as well as some western government and major donor agencies have all joined the campaign to legalize prostitution because they feel that is the only way condom use, regular health checkups including HIV tests can be promoted among sex workers and their customers. 

Earlier sleazy lawyers helped sex workers get bail when arrested. Today, with the availability of massive international grants for this work, some of the best lawyers in India have emerged as defenders of the rights of prostitutes.  While some still stay with the old-fashioned view that sex workers are trapped in the profession due to poverty related circumstances, many argue that renting out one’s body to a customer for a few hours is no different from a doctor, teacher or an architect renting out his intellectual skills to an employer for a 
monthly salary.  Therefore, they demand that sex work should be legalized and treated with the same dignity and respect as any other profession. 

However, those who demand that prostitution should be “legalized” and treated with “respect and dignity” at par with all other professions and occupations need to answer a few basic questions:

 What does the term “legalize” actually imply? Does it mean that a prostitute can open a sexshop anywhere she likes and advertise her services? Does it mean men or women supplying call girls should be able to set up an office in any neighborhood they like, just as doctors set up their clinics, proclaiming that call girls are available between such and such hours? How many of us are willing to let our young children grow up amidst an atmosphere where renting a woman’s body for sex is considered a perfectly legitimate activity?

If people come to know that a mafia don has set up a call-girl racket in their neighbourhood, do they have the right to seek its removal or does it mean other citizens have to suffer the presence of such activities in the name of “respecting” the rights of sex workers to an occupation of their choice and thereby endanger their own lives?

Those who demand that sex work be given the same “respect” as any other profession, need to explain whose duty it is to give or ensure “respect” for prostitutes and pimps? Is the government expected to enact a law requiring people not to shun prostitutes, as for instance it did to ban the practice of untouchability?  One can prove that one does not practice untouchability by freely intermixing and inter-dining with castes condemned as untouchables.  How does one prove one’s “respect” for a prostitute? Do we have to send our children to brothels to intermix with the children of sex workers or do we hold special functions to socially honour the most successful among them?  If prostitutes cannot win the respect of the clients they service, how can the rest of society be made to respect them?

We are told that at least feminists have a duty to respect women for making this choice. If feminism is about respecting each and every choice women make, then why are we not willing to respect women who choose to worship at sati shrines or those who abort female fetuses because they prefer being mothers of sons rather than daughters?

Countries where sex work is legal are not free from dehumanizing forms of sex slavery and prostitutes do not command social respect. Therefore, copycat solutions will not work. While there is need to decriminalize this activity and free sex workers from the terror and extortionist grip of the police, to make it respectable and socially acceptable would mean turning a blind eye to the dehumanizing circumstances through which the vast majority of children and women are trapped into trading their bodies.

--------------------------------------
The author is a Professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and founder editor Manushi. She 
can be reached at editor@manushi-india.org
Comment(3)

completely agree with your argument
Posted By : satya prakash mishra, On Date: Wednesday, January 06, 2010

"Do we have to send our children to brothels to intermix with the children of sex workers or do we hold special functions to socially honour the most successful among them?" - Dear Maam, while I agree with some of the points made in your article, sentences such as this come across as exclusivist, tinged with a superiority complex and unwillingness to accept children of sex workers as human beings, which I hope, is not the case. Regards.
Posted By : d, On Date: Thursday, April 08, 2010

prostitutes are made prostitutes because of bored respectful powerful men.they highly demand of prostitutes.catering to this demand act the pimps i.e.the criminals.we have to show the history of prostitution in india to indian women particularly and to everyone in general.we have to tell them that "izzat" is a patriarchal construct.show them the picture of a somewhat better life for women in matriarchal society.example of khasi matriarchal society can be given.all arguments should be presented to rescue people's mind with the clutches of religion.after all temple prostitution is due to the contractors of religion only.when women will come to know that they are victims of a hegemony i.e.so-called honour which all the shrewed men play upon to trap them......women will themselves try to come out of this.society will accept them when it also comes to know izzat as a patriarchal construct.once being in the hell of the brothel most of the women would long for escaping from there but since society acts towards them as a pariah and shrewed men of all occupations make benefit of the sorry state of affairs....these women cant escape.when knowledge is circulated far and wide even in regional languages..things would change somewhat for the better.thanks.
Posted By : swarn rekha, On Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2011

How Not to Remember Bapu - Some Thoughts on Gandhi Jayanti

There could be no greater insult to Mahatma Gandhi’s memory than the fact that the Government of India enforces a compulsory national holiday on 2nd October, his birthday. Among other valuable lessons, Bapu taught us that it is our dharmic duty to disobey bad laws. Therefore, every single year since Manushi was founded in 1978, we have kept the Manushi office open and functioning on Gandhi’s birthday, October 2, as a tribute to the memory of Bapu – the greatest karmayogi of our epoch. I even keep my own office at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies open and working on Gandhi Jayanti even though the rest of the institution is closed that day.

On this issue, I am willing to accept whatever punishment the Government wants to impose on me for violating this enforced holiday.

Gandhi once wrote: “I have a horror of all isms, especially those that attach themselves to proper names.""I have no doubt that of all isms, he hated "Tokenism" most. If the Government must indulge in tokenism on Gandhi Jayanti, it would be more appropriate if it encouraged government employees to spend that one day cleaning up their filthy offices and toilets with their own hands and observe a maun vrat (silent fast) on October 2. If those in power learnt to pay tribute to Gandhi’s life by simple gestures like inculcating respect for physical cleanliness and encouraging their employees to keep their tables, their office rooms, corridors and toilets clean and orderly, it might trigger off a transformation in their mindset. A person who spends long hours every day of his or her working life amidst the squalor, disorder and filth that have become the hallmarks of our sarkari offices is bound to have very low self-esteem. And people with low self-esteem easily become petty tyrants and extortionists.

It is unfortunate that very few in the Congress Party take Gandhi’s philosophy seriously enough to make it a guide for action in their political lives. Instead, it has become fashionable to cynically use his martyrdom as a sword to fight self-serving, partisan political battles with one’s opponents.

After Gandhi’s image had served their purpose, most Congressmen who took over the reins of power found his service, his philosophy, and his ideas altogether redundant and dispensable. Had Gandhi lived longer, he would have probably been prevented from playing a meaningful role in the nation’s affairs — just as he was pushed aside on the issue of Partition and the kind of Constitution India needed and deserved after gaining political Independence.

The conduct of the Congress Party had so begun to depress Bapu that he recommended it be disbanded as a political Party and its workers spread out to villages for rural reconstruction so as to give way to new political formations. Many of those who genuinely believed in Gandhi's vision actually opted out of electoral politics and set up institutions devoted to rural reconstruction and work for gram swaraj. But most such people were systematically marginalized by Congress Party leaders who assumed power as inheritors of the British Raj. Similarly causes dear to Gandhi’s heart, like the need for probity and transparency in public life, decolonizing of our education system as well as our machinery of governance suffered neglect after Independence. Most depressing of all, since Indira Gandhi’s days, the Congress party often resorted to the politics of engineering inter-community conflicts, including riots, to polarize communal vote banks in their favour. Consequently, the image of Congressmen took a nosedive in post-Independence India. In the heyday of the freedom movement, Indian films would depict a khadi-wearing person with a Gandhi cap on his head as a symbol of the spirit of freedom, a belief in swadeshi, a commitment to selflessly serving the poor and the deprived. However, in today’s Bollywood films, a person sporting these symbols is commonly depicted as a figure embodying hypocrisy, greed and corruption.

It is because his own Party stopped taking him seriously that most young people in India grow up thinking of Gandhi as a pious crank with very little relevance for the modern world. Even though many of the most important world leaders, statesmen and women who have played a creative ethical role in shaping world history – be it Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Vaclav Havel, Aung Sang Sun Kui or the Dalai Lama – draw inspiration from Gandhi or feel connected with his worldview, in our own country Gandhi is either worshipped in caricatured form or used as a meaningless icon.

The neglect of Gandhi’s ideas and philosophy is also evident from the fact that we do not have even one world-class institution in India doing solid research in Gandhi’s philosophy. Institutions built in Gandhi’s memory such as the Gandhi Peace Foundation were hounded and virtually destroyed by Indira Gandhi for having opposed the Emergency. Many others are dying from callous neglect, indifference or active hostility as happened with Gandhi Vidyapeeth in Kashi. Compare the facilities Gandhian institutions collectively offer with those named after Jawaharlal Nehru (such as the Nehru Memorial Library and Research Centre and Jawaharlal Nehru University or even Nehru Park in Delhi!) and you realize how little Gandhi matters for today’s Congressmen. Let the Congress Party do a rough and ready survey to find out how many young Congress members – municipal councillors, district chiefs, even the new generation of ministers – have ever seen, leave alone read a book on or by Gandhi and whether they believe his ideas have anything to offer them in their own battle for survival within the Congress Party.

Instead of taking pot shots at the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha for their role in the murder of Gandhi, the leaders of the Congress Party owe them a debt of gratitude, because had Gandhi stayed alive, he is likely to have led satyagraha after satyagraha against the Congress government’s policies in post-Independence India. The Pakistani ruling establishment could get away with jailing their Frontier Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, for most of his life. However, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi could not have been subdued by such means. Therefore, his assassination turned out to be a timely favour to the Congress Party. By making him a martyr, Godse helped the Congress set him aside, put him up on stone pedestals, pay token tributes to his memory once or twice a year, and occasionally use his quotations in speeches delivered in international forums to try to convince the rest of the world that the Indian government occupies a high moral ground.Those of us who take Gandhi seriously should focus on imbibing in our own lives some of the basic principles that would show that we respect Gandhi’s message and methods:

Adopt, as far as we are capable of them, truth and non-violence as the guiding principles of all our actions and thoughts. This includes avoiding exaggeration, and refraining from overstating our case. Most important of all, we must refrain from demonizing our opponents.

Ensure that the gap between our practice and our precept is as narrow as possible. If we lead by example, rather than sermons, people will more readily forgive us our mistakes, especially if we have the humility and honesty to openly admit them rather than adopt an offensive or defensive strategy to cover up for our errors.

Build a politics around consensus as far as possible, and try to win over our opponents with sound reasoning, by grounding our politics on principles of fair play and justice, rather than trying to browbeat them into submission or silence by virulent attack.

Strengthen the culture of treating politics as a sacred mission, rather than as a means to acquire the power to manipulate and subjugate fellow citizens. Power should be perceived as a limited and sacred trust rather than a means for self-aggrandizement.

Weigh each issue on its own merit and come up with creative solutions to problems, rather than judging each issue through the prism of deadening ideologies, which become a substitute for creative ideas and promote servility of thought and emotion. The dead hand of ossified ideologies only creates stalemates and civil strife, which prevent India from moving along the path of progress and prosperity.

Work towards bridging the growing urban-rural, rich-poor divide as well as the new divide created by the dominance of English and the marginalization and neglect of all our regional languages.

Dismantle the existing colonial machinery of governance and build institutions that put real power in the hands of people to make governance accountable to citizens and transparent in its functioning. In short, steer our democracy towards “swaraj”.

Gandhi’s remained a seeker of “truth”, not in any abstract philosophical sense but in order to understand and be finely tuned to the needs and aspirations of his people with "Satya and Ahimsa" as his guiding lights. That is why his life and his message continue to inspire the best among politicians, thinkers, writers, artists, philanthropists and all those engaged in making our world more compassionate and just.


Monday 2 June 2014

Neither a Rambo Act Nor a Publicity Gimmick - Modi Led Relief Efforts in Uttarakhand


When Saturday evening T.V channels brought the news that Narendra Modi’s visit to Uttrakhand to oversee relief operations had kicked off a major political storm, I decided to go and check for myself whether this was indeed a cheap publicity gimmick as alleged by the Congress and its minions or a serious response to a humongous tragedy. During the course of my study of post 2002 Gujarat, I had heard glowing accounts of how Narendra Modi had handled the reconstruction of towns and villages affected by the Bhuj earthquake.  Even during the Surat floods, Modi combined efficient short term relief with long term measures to avert such tragedies. All that was in past tense. I wanted to see if the Disaster Management system was still in place.

Those who disparagingly called Modi a Rambo or a publicity hungry politician have no clue what they are dealing with. He is an institution builder par excellence and a statesman who believes in using state power to serve people and knows how to do it. This is proved by the fact that:
Gujarat today has a fighting fit bureaucracy because it was enabled to develop expertise, team spirit and deliver results under the most adverse circumstances. It is also empowered and encouraged to take on-the-spot decisions rather than wait to seek “permission” from “higher ups”. 

The Gujarat Disaster Management Authority (GDMA) has become a thoroughly professional institution capable of responding to natural or manmade disasters.  It has a 24x7 monitoring system and well publicized helpline numbers well known to Gujaratis—both in the country and abroad.

Modi has succeeded in conveying to the citizens of Gujarat that the Government is always there to serve them. That is why the first response of Gujaratis anywhere in the world is to contact the CM’s office if they are caught in a calamity. He himself acts with lightning speed, anticipating problems and finding advance solutions rather than be overwhelmed by them.

Modi’s deep personal knowledge of every region of India and contacts with an amazing range of people and institutions in almost every part of India, thanks to the years he spent as a pracharak are a big asset in responding creatively to sudden challenges.   

For example, Modi arrived in Delhi late 17th night for a meeting with the Planning Commission on 18th when news of cloudburst and landslides was telecast on TV. He held an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation since he knew that thousands of Gujaratis are likely to be among the Chardham pilgrims. Due to his close personal knowledge of Uttrakhand he anticipated it had the makings of a major tragedy. Right away, a camp office was opened at Gujarat Bhavan and the Resident Commissioner’s team in Delhi were made responsible for coordinating with Gujarati pilgrims.

On 18th morning, Modi called Dr Pranav Pandya of the All World Gayatri Parivar to provide space and infrastructure in his Shanti Kunj campus for the relief centre proposed to be set up by the Gujarat Government. He chose this campus because of his close knowledge of and rapport with this Gandhian institution which can house and feed thousands of people at short notice. It has a 2000 strong community of dedicated swayam sevaks on the campus plus 3000 odd students of the Dev Sanskriti University who are also infused with the seva bhav that is the hallmark of Gayatri Pariwar. The 90 acre campus also has a well-run hospital. This institution for social service and national reconstruction was set up by Acharya Ram Sharma who took his inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi whose message of service is infused in every aspect of Gayatri Pariwar.

Modi’s personal rapport with Dr Pandya dates back to his pracharak days. Gayatri Pariwar had also joined hands with Gujarat Government during the reconstruction work in earthquake affected villages in Bhuj. Therefore, this was a tried and tested institution for Modi. Even on its own it was also providing food, blankets and other necessities to stranded pilgrims and local population through the air force helicopters.

One phone call to Dr Pandya on the 18th and by the same evening a set of computers with internet connection, along with telephone lines, T.V and all other paraphernalia required for Gujarat Government’s Relief Operation set up. Therefore, when a team of Gujarat Government IAS, IPS and IFS officers led by Principal Secretary and Relief Commissioner P.K Parmar came, they could get going within minutes of reaching Shanti Kunj. Their team included two officers who hail from Uttarakhand with close knowledge of the terrain to guide both the stranded pilgrims as well as rescue teams on the safest possible routes to take. Assistant Director General of Police Mr Bisht who hails from Uttarakhand went straight to Gupta Kashi from where the rescue operations are being launched. He has trekked to Kedarnath, Gaurikund and other places to track down trapped pilgrims. A team of seven doctors trained in handling such emergencies, led by an orthopaedic surgeon, not only put in place an efficient first aid service but were also attending to those severely injured. Here again the approach was pro-active. They went to other relief camps and railway stations to attend to non-Gujarati pilgrims as well. 

The mandate of Team Gujarat in Uttarakhand is: take good care of rescued pilgrims as they arrive. But once they are recovered, send them home at the earliest possible in the most comfortable manner. Don’t worry about expenditure or numbers.This is the standard approach of Gujarat government: 'Plan for all, not a set number. Be prepared to handle as many as need the services rather than turn away people for lack of resources.'

As always, officers on the ground have been empowered to take on the spot decisions, to decide how many luxury buses or taxis they need, how many pilgrims need to be sent by air and what kind of air craft to order. It is not as if the rich are being sent by air and the poor by buses. The decision is need based. 

Thus when Modi landed in Dehradun, Team Gujarat was already in control. Far from attacking the state government, he offered all possible help to CM Bahuguna. In addition, he synergized resources, energized BJP workers to get going, not just for immediate relief but also long term reconstruction work. All his officers were provided phone numbers of BJP functionaries of all 190 blocks in Uttrakhand and vice versa. As usual he worked 20 hours a day to guide and streamline the operations. The spirited enthusiasm of Gujarat govt staff and BJP workers had to be seen to be believed.

I saw senior IAS officers working 24x7 alongside very junior staff in one single room as a close knit team.

Similar help counters have been set up at the railway stations and airports in Gujarat to help people reach their homes safely.

Congress Party is understandably upset because the UPA government is not only scam ridden but also rudderless. Congress run state governments have proved either lackluster or disastrous as in Uttarakhand. Congress party machinery is in disarray, Congress Sewa Dal workers are nowhere in sight, Rahul’s Youth Brigade is clueless even in routine situations, leave alone know how to face a crisis like the Uttarakhand deluge.


Phobic responses to Modi and hate campaigns against him for doing the right thing make the Congress Party look ridiculous in its vulnerability and heightens its image of incompetence and venality.

Madhu Kishwar

Madhu Kishwar
इक उम्र असर होने तक… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …اک عمر اثر ہونے تک