Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010: Special Report- Major boost for s*x tourism in India (part 1)
Legalising prostitution in a country battling from human trafficking has not quite been the wisest move by the Indian government. Prostitution might be as old as civilization itself however; it is the worst form of oppression and slavery. It is a result
of extreme poverty, criminal greed and the patriarchal misogynist nature of society that has evolved over time.
Eight hundred thousand women and young girls are bought and sold each year. What is most worrying however is, if it wasn’t for prostitution this modern day slave trade as we know it would not exist. India, one of the world’s largest developing economies
has a billion dollar prostitution industry. According to official figures, there were more than 2.8 million prostitutes operating in the country and actively involved in the s*x trade in 2007. This figure is expected to have tremendously increased in the last
few years.
What is most interesting however is the fact that according to a Human rights watch report in 1996 there were 10 million s*x workers in the country and BBC had concluded in one of its reports that the figure of s*x workers had increased to 3 million in 2003-04.
Therefore there is a high likelihood that the government of India has under reported the exact figures to evade the eye of the Human rights watch, Ngo’s and media.
With the advent of Commonwealth games 2010 that will be attracting scores of foreign tourists the Indian capital has become a w***e – fest. While there has been much talk revolving around corruption during the preparations of the CWG 2010, it has brought
a massive influx of money for many. Architects, Engineers, construction companies, hotels, travel agencies and shops. One might wonder who else can benefit from the Commonwealth games. Ruchira Gupta a member of the organization Apne Aap Women Worldwide says
‘look no further than the s*x trade’.
According to Gupta, thousands of Indian girls are being kidnapped by traffickers all over the country and being sold to pimps and brothels who are reportedly preparing them for the CWG games in Delhi. It is also noted that the women are injected with oxytocin
to make their bodies more voluptuous for the s*x trade. Most of the girls that are being kidnapped and trafficked are between the ages of 9 to 17.
One particular anti-trafficking organization working in the Indian Capital, Shakti Vahini states that almost 40 to 45 girls have been rescued since March and the girls belonged to the poorest states of India including Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Orissa. According to the Action against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of children, many girls are being kidnapped from the extremely poor areas of the country like Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka to curb the shortfall of s*x workers the capital
city faces with the large influx of foreigners. Some say the shortfall is as much as 50%.
These girls are then being trained and coached by pimps. They are also being taught English and words like ‘hello’, ‘how are you’, ‘thank you’ and most importantly the phrase ‘please use a condom’.
GB Road in Delhi India is famous for housing hundreds of prostitution dens in the country’s capital city and according to reports; the red light zone in the capital is getting a major face lift in the wake of the CWG 2010. The brothels are upgrading themselves
to provide luxurious facilities and make them more appealing for the foreign customer by installing fridges, air conditioners and LCD TV’s.
Tina Jaswal, the CEO and owner of the No 1 escort agency of New Delhi has said that she is hoping to make some good money out of the games and simple economic principles of demand and supply will ensure that she gets high rates for her call girls. She also
stated that their agency has effectively doubled their rates and have increased the number of call girls as well.
Tags: