Index of articles, click here

Sex, sleaze and the city

With men demanding and women providing, prostitution is a global phenomenon. Accompanied by two male colleagues, Tashi Wangmo finds out over the course of an evening in shady Thimphu nooks and corners that, here too, women's bodies are consumed as market products.

In Bhutanese society, the term "prostitute" is viewed differently. The word surfaces mostly in verbal abuse referring to a woman with dubious moral character or one who is considered "cheap." But make no mistake � the real thing, the professional, the "commercial sex worker," as she is referred to in official medi-speak, exists not only in Phuentsholing but in the capital city, Thimphu, as well. The flesh trade here is said to exist at two levels. In the words of an observer, there's the "cheap, in-your-face fare" and the "cr�me de la cr�me." The latter class is said to be more covert, more individualised than organised and, of course, more expensive. However, in the absence of proper, comprehensive study on the issue, it is hard to make generalisations or judgements.

In Bhutan, as elsewhere, the causes of women taking to prostitution seem to be multifaceted. Poverty appears to be one reason, as do materialism and the compulsive urge to live a glamorous lifestyle. Many of the girls appear to be youth fallen or stolen from grace, robbed of their innocence and youth.

In Norzin Lam, right behind the city police station, stands a building where eight carom boards outside the ground floor hold place of pride. Most passersby are oblivious to what occurs there.

By day, the place looks deceptively like a casual haunt for men from lower income groups. As dusk turns to night, few young girls can be seen loitering nearby or hanging around.

Two male Observer colleagues impersonated as prospective clients to help me experience the place first-hand. We came across three girls who, standing no taller than five feet in height, could easily pass off as 14 or 15-year-olds. They donned eyeliner on unwashed faces and dirty slip-ons on dirtier feet. Their cut-price flared pants and grime-lined fingernails told stories of hard times spent in difficult places.

They occupied themselves by teasingly petting and semihugging boys little older than themselves, their eyes scouring the crowd all the while. Like vampires eyeing a feast of virgins, a group of older men with mouths stained blood-red with doma, passed the girls, dashing chests and bulging bellies into all before them with ungainly indifference. I spoke to one of the girls, telling her I was looking for an economical room to spend the night. She said I could opt for a room upstairs for Nu. 250 or try another hotel near the taxi parking lot for about the same charge. Asked why she was hanging around the place, she claimed, not convincingly enough, that the building was her cousin's. She told me in plain language that she lived with her sister, but her tone and her body language spoke louder. They said that she wished to be left alone.

Inside the bar, my colleagues were trying to get to a pimp we had earlier learnt of. A grimy and hefty man with sun-parched skin, reeking of alcohol, said the pimp had left for Gelephu, but he was willing to help. Before long, even he grew suspicious of us. Exclaiming abruptly that he was only a beggar, he disappeared. We had wasted our time.

Time for plan two: move, try another place. As we were leaving, an excited teenage boy shouted after us, "Buootifuol." It made my skin crawl.

In a last desperate attempt, one of my colleagues tried his hand. This time, he managed to fix an appointment with one of the girls for "Nu 300, without discount." She told him she was a 17-yearold from Samtse and then refused to say much more.

She did ask him when and where their rendezvous would be. He said everything had been taken care of except for cash, which he was going to fetch. We fled from the scene.

A man in his 30s said that sometimes when he bedded girls, the price varied during the day and night. During the day, the men had the power to fix the rate, but at night, it was otherwise. "The girls leave after the deed is done or, if they are fully drunk, they stay the night over." Another man said that the total expenditure for room, drinks and food would usually add up to about Nu 600, excluding the actual "service fee."

Apart from prostitutes, there are some women approaching middle age and young girls, some who have hardly reached age of consent, who work as singers, waitresses, or as "companions" at bars and clubs.

They are said to be "very cooperative" with men do not view themselves as prostitutes. Like the men who seek them, they are just "having fun." They would be given rides home after their late-night shifts, and the road would lead either to the men's homes or other convenient locations.

Like the prostitutes, these girls are reported to narrate woeful histories like untimely death of parents, poverty, and unemployment. My colleagues and I arrived at one of these clubs of dodgy repute. Outside, a shopkeeper's baby danced to the music blaring from the club. Inside, the murky room was littered with dirty plastic tables bearing the weight of alcoholic drinks and elbows of men puffing on cigarettes in slow, emphatic drags.

A chubby girl crooned the Sharchhogpa hit song "Apa ama cha mo (Do you have a father and a mother)," while other young girls hovered around, appealing to the largely middle-aged male clientele to pay Nu. 50 and request songs of their choice.

Occasionally, one or two of them would sit pressed against the body of this or that man. All too apparently, the men enjoyed the attention.

The men, of varying income groups, swaggered in and out either to the loo, the kitchen or outside. A few policemen in uniform had hit the bar for a quick drink. Four children not older than 15 huddled in a corner smoking and drinking beer. Suddenly four girls took centrestage. In a self-proclaimed "disco" style, they began bouncing to "Saturday Night." Their wellrehearsed dance seemed to be of no interest to the men. I think they preferred having the girls by their sides.

After a while, the girls from the carom board hangout turned up, but one of them was missing, a probable indication that she was with a client. The two girls sat in a corner and, soon enough, two men were already swooning over them. This time the girls seemed relaxed. They finally had their clients.

A 15-year-old petite waitress went about her work only to have men pull her by the wrist and tease her profusely. Speaking to us, she said she liked her job and her pay of Nu 2000 was good enough.

"I live across the river and the rent is Nu 600," she said. "Since my father's leg is broken, I take care of the expenses at home." She added that, though uneducated, she would like to work in an office with a computer. For the moment, though, she did not have the means to pay for education. She also said that some of the girls who offered "services" in exchange for cash were regulars in the club. She seemed both cynical and coy saying so.

It was a disconcerting night. On one hand, we felt sympathy for the girls we had met. On the other, we also considered the serious implications they had on society, like the spread of HIV/ AIDS, families broken under the strain of extra-marital affairs, and the illegality of the flesh trade. According to the Penal Code of Bhutan, under Chapter 26, Section 373, the defendant shall be guilty of the offence of prostitution, if the defendant offers, agrees to engage, or engages in sexual conduct with another person in exchange for money or property. Under Section 374, the offence is graded a misdemeanour. And the promotion of prostitution, the defendant shall be guilty of the offence of promotion of prostitution amongst others, if the defendant encourages, induces, or otherwise purposely causes another to become or remain as a prostitute, and procures a prostitute for a patron.

Promotion of prostitution is graded a misdemeanour, a felony of the fourth degree, if the person used for prostitution is above the age of 12 and below the age of 18 years, and a felony of the third degree if the person used for prostitution is a child below 12 years of age.

Patronizing a prostitute is graded under Section 337 and 378. The offence is considered a misdemeanour and felony of the fourth degree if the person is a child above 12 years and below 18 years of age, and as a felony of the third degree if the person is a child below 12.

Trafficking a person for prostitution is graded under Section 379 and 380. Trafficking an adult is a felony of the third degree. Trafficking a child above 12 and below 18 years of age is felony of the second degree. The offence is a felony of the first degree if the child is below 12.

Dr Meenakshi Rai, Counsellor at the NGO, Respect Empower Nurture and Educate Women (RENEW), said she was aware of this problem but women involved in the flesh trade were not open. She said if they came to RENEW they would be given counselling and support in areas that would be useful.

"We would like to tell them that we will be happy to help them," she said, "because if a few came forward then, through word of mouth, the rest would most likely follow." Chhoeki Penjor of the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) told Observer that, so far, no study on prostitution has been conducted but the Commission was working on the matter in close collaboration with the Women and Child Protection Unit of the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) on all issues relating to women and children, including prostitution.

According to the Officer in Charge of the Women and Child Protection Unit, Lieutenant Karma Rigzin, the old method of arresting offenders and forwarding them to court had failed to produce any lasting solution to prostitution. There was thus a clear need for a new, more "humanistic" approach.

The Unit, which was established only eight months ago, plans to soon focus on prostitution, a step for which the unit is already collecting data and information. "People must realise now that dealing with prostitution is not the sole responsibility of police," said Lt. Karma Rigzin. "All the different stakeholders such as the ministries of Health and Education, the NCWC and NGOs can play just as important roles." Meanwhile, RENEW has 83 clients, none of whom are prostitutes. Incidentally, one of the "seedy" clubs happens to be in the same building in which the RENEW office is situated.

Index of articles, click here

Adrian Michael
Ul Wielopole 4 Krakow 31-072
Poland