Seeing prostitutes as citizens, women, human beings

Siddhant, one of the best drama series broadcast by Star One, had a sincere caring young lawyer as its protagonist. Each episode used to take up an issue and weave a court case around it, taking up issues like bad roads in Mumbai causing miscarriages, fairness creams causing horrible skin infections to consumers, and the one most relevant here: a police officer raping and battering a prostitute who then seeks justice through courts. The episode showed how a lecherous, beastly officer can not only unleash terror on citizens and subordinates alike, but get away with it too. On TV, the young enterprising lawyer gets an ashamed, terrorised and guilt-ridden constable to testify against the officer in court. 

But, in real life one would have to be more than enterprising to get any sort of evidence against the guilty police officer who assaulted two prostitutes recently, one of the victims being pregnant and who subsequently miscarried. This happened in Satara Maharashtra, but it could have happened anywhere - any city, metropolis, the remotest village. And very likely happens pretty much everyday.

There are two problems - both very fundamental. One, police thinks - and mostly rightly - that it can get away with murder. Literally. It misbehaves and breaks laws not only while investigating cases (though I don't think that that is license either) but also in general. In essence, being a legitimate member of the police force only means that one can vent all one's casteist, sexist agenda in full public view, in broad daylight and not be held responsible for it. In Indore, my unfortunate native place, there are seasons when tribal communities from nearby areas migrate to the city in search of jobs. During those times if there are any incidents of theft, etc. the efficient police force of the city promptly puts as many men from the tribal communities, as it can lay its filthy hands on, into jails. You see they can be proved to have motive so darned easily!!! With our economy the way it is, it is not difficult to show that a tribal man is hungry and has no money to buy even food - so who better to frame theft charges on??

So, those from the most marginalized communities - and who is more marginalized than prostitutes??? - simply become a targets of the police force's own oppressive social order. You are poor, have least chance of anyone - from media to ministers to the blind middle class - coming to your rescue or even bother whether you are inside or outside jails, then you are just the perfect target for the policeman! A kick in the face, a boot on your pregnant stomach, a false complain of soliciting in public place, and then where are you? Is it any surprise that rape victims or victims of domestic violence, or any other women victims prefer to bear their suffering in silence than seek help from the police or courts? You may go in a plaintive and come out the accused. Or better still, the deceased.

The other problem is we as a society do not really think that prostitutes may have rights - as any other woman, human being, or citizen. They do  have rights to life, protection and dignity. In Siddhant, this point was made: just because they are sex workers does not mean that an one can force themselves on these women. One, they have the right to choose who their client will be, two they have to be paid. Three they simply cannot be forced just because they are prostitutes. If we so hate the idea of prostitution can we please rein the male clients?? And the mostly male racketeers involved in trafficking of women and children through the country? And the ministers, businesses and policemen who turn a blind eye to the whole thing? And while we are it maybe we would also question the policies and policy-makers who have allowed poverty to get so bad women have to prostitute themselves?  But then, you'd be questioning global neoliberal capitalism. And being stoned to death isn't all that pleasant, right?

In any case, whether they do it out of choice or out of desperate need, prostitutes still have right to life and rights to protection and security. They certainly have the right to be treated as citizens entitled to these rights, by those the state employs to protect its citizens - the police.

What we need is more vocal protest from the civil society itself. That might be a tall order. Considering that we hardly support our own friends, wives, daughters, mothers, etc. when their rights are being trampled over by men all around us, we are hardly likely to raise our voices in support of women who our oh-so-pious society considers the scum of the earth!