Under wraps, prostitution rife in north Afghanistan
Pastor Dale Morgan
Under wraps, prostitution rife in north Afghanistan*
By Tahir Qadiry
Reuters
Sunday, May 18, 2008; 8:12 PM
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - When 19-year-old Fatima returned
to her home in northern Afghanistan after years as a refugee in Iran,
she struggled desperately to earn a living.
She briefly found work with an NGO, before being let go, and then spent
two months learning how to weave carpets, before the factory shut down
and she was again out on the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Determined to support her mother, two sisters and young brother, she
turned to a profession that has long been practiced the world over but
remains deeply suppressed in conservative Afghanistan -- prostitution.
"I had no other way but prostitution," says the pretty teenager, dressed
in tight blue jeans with a black veil pulled loosely over her head.
"I get up early in the morning and wander around the city," she said, at
first reluctant to discuss her work. "My customers stop me and give me a
lift and then we talk about the price," she explains, her face coated in
make-up.
Sometimes charging $50 a time, her work is illegal and would bring shame
on her family if discovered, but it provides a lifeline she otherwise
could not have imagined.
And there is anecdotal evidence, supported by doctors concerned about
the potential for the spread of HIV and AIDS, that more and more young
women across northern regions of Afghanistan are turning to sex work to
escape grinding poverty.
Mohammad Khalid, a doctor who runs an AIDS awareness clinic in
Mazar-i-Sharif, says he has seen a rise in infections, although from a
very low base, and fears that women working in prostitution are
reluctant to come forward to be tested.
"Unfortunately the public is not aware of the risk of HIV infection," he
says. "It is very dangerous and these prostitutes will be a major factor
in spreading it."
FEW OPTIONS
Nasrin, a stylish 24-year-old dressed in a white burqa but wearing
fashionable jeans underneath, works as a prostitute in Kunduz, to the
east of Mazar-i-Sharif.
She says she was urged by her mother to take up the work as there was no
other way for the family to earn a living.
"My father died in the civil war, my mum was a widow and I did not know
what she did for work," Nasrin explained. "Later I understood she was a
prostitute. One day she encouraged me to have sex with a man who came to
our house."
Nasrin said she was ashamed, but felt she had no choice. "I really
wanted to be a good lady and live with my husband, but now everyone sees
me as a prostitute," she said. "My life is spoiled," she sobbed.
Others are more satisfied with their work, even if they acknowledge it
means a normal life is out of the question.
"I am happy with what I am doing," says Nazanin, 23, a long-time
prostitute in Mazar-i-Sharif who charges $15 a time.
"On the other hand, I have had enough of this. I really want to live
like the others do. But who will marry me?" she asked. While
Afghanistan's strict Islamic law forbids prostitution, there are signs
the work is taking formal root, with brothels operating in some cities
and pimps managing prostitutes. Bribes take care of unwanted police
attention.
"I have had my brothel for at least five years," explained a pimp in one
northern provincial city, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I have 10
girls here and my customers are trustworthy."
Asked how he operates under Islamic law, he replied: "My brothel is not
in the open. It is something only my customers know about. Once police
took notice of what I was doing but I paid them a bribe."
SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE
For clients, paying for sex gives them easy access to women that they
otherwise would not be able to meet or could only have contact with if
they were married -- a costly exercise in itself.
"I have sex at least once a week with one of these prostitutes," said
Zilgy, a 25-year-old visiting a brothel in Mazar-i-Sharif. "I am their
regular customer now. I have their telephone numbers and invite them to
many places."
Ahmad Jamshid, aged 27, says he has sex with prostitutes because he
cannot afford a wife.
"I am a shopkeeper. If I want to marry a girl, I must have at least
$20,000 to marry her. Having sex with a prostitute is the only way that
can I meet my expectations," he said.
Women's rights workers are concerned about what they see as a rising
tide in sex work but believe it will inevitably continue unless the
government does something to tackle poverty.
Malalai Usmani, head of Balkh, a women's rights organization, says more
awareness in the public is needed.
"Because of poverty, women are doing this," she said. "It is all because
of poverty. The government and other organizations should launch
awareness programs to let these women know about the harm caused by
prostitution."
Security chiefs and religious leaders are also keen to show that they
are clamping down on the world's oldest profession, but they lay the
blame squarely on the sex worker, not the customers.
"Prostitution is completely illegal in Islam," said Qari Aziz, a prayer
leader in Mazar-i-Sharif. "Those practicing it must be punished very
harshly so that they will never do it again."
(Editing by Megan Goldin)