Prostitution is one of the oldest of the professions. Even when there were no Bankers, Engineers, Lawyers, there were prostitutes. Though they were not called so at that time, and in a certain sense it wasn’t a derogatory profession. They were respected and even considered an incarnation of certain goddesses.
In current times, however, with our country growing fast and furious, we don’t have time to think of these issues. Also our current culture and tradition presents Sex Work as a very disgusting thing. And for me personally, I never really thought it existed. Though growing up has made me more aware of things around me, still prostitution appeared something that was non-existent. It was a sort of a myth at least in places I had lived. There were always some places with famous names, but still unknown to me.
Fortunately for me, I came to read a book recently Aids Sutra. It’s been sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates foundation and has an anthology of stories related to AIDS. When we talk about AIDS, definitely Sex Work comes into the picture. And I was surprised, bordering to being shocked, by the magnitude of the whole problem in India.
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