Nigerian s*x Workers Demand Recognition, Say s*x Is Job Too
As the world marks the 14th International s*x Worker’s Rights
Day today, Nigerian s*x workers have joined their counterparts in some
countries to demand for legal recognition of their trade as a job.
Some of the prostitutes are sure that the time had come for the
Nigerian government to grant them their due recognition and further
recognise that as human beings trying to keep body and soul going, the
‘profession’ should be considered legitimate enough to put a stop to its
discrimination and stigmatisation.
Though many of them did not realise that a day like this was set
aside for them until they were told, they also called on rights
activists to assist them gain the desired recognition.
“See, many people, including you, do not see us as human beings. In
your mind, we are a condemned set of Nigerians who sell their bodies so
cheaply, but that thought is not right,” Jane, a lady from eastern
Nigeria who operates at a brothel close to the railwayline in Agege,
told the correspondent.
Her colleague, a 27-year old from southern Nigeria, said with their
rights recognised, they could pay tax to the government and to be seen
as decent people in the society.
“In some countries abroad, s*x workers pay taxes. There is no
discrimination, they can sue and even have streets, mainly in red light
districts allocated to them to carry out their trades.
But here in Nigeria, we are faced with rejection from the
society, serious harassment by the police, and victimisation by our
customers.
You can imagine a customer who rushes into this place in a
desperate bid to ease himself, jumps at one of us after a bargain and
rides like a horse only to renege on the agreement on how much he should
pay.
If we have our rights, we could call for his arrest without shame or molestation from security agents and other Nigerians,” she explained.
In a brothel just a few meters away, another s*x worker, Judith, told
our correspondent that many prostitutes have various reasons for taking
up the “business.”
In her own case, she had travelled out of the country primarily to
“hustle in Spain. But I was deported even before reaching the place.
“It was a tough experience and I started sleeping with men as we moved from one country to another just to get money to survive.
I stayed two months in Morocco gathering money, but just days to
my entering Spain, I was caught with other 80 women and men and sent
back to Nigeria.
I am from Agbor in Delta State and couldn’t go back to my place because of the shame.
So I took up residency in this place servicing men daily and
making money. I’m even more comfortable here now and I make good money,
about N12,000 every week,” she said.
In another brothel located behind the lock-up shops in Iyana-Ipaja,
Philo, a 30-year old, who said she never heard that s*x workers had such
a day in their honour, said it would be good for government to give
them legal backing.
“We can be seen as social workers assisting men who can’t summon
the courage to ‘toast’ women, who are downtrodden and can’t maintain
having a full-time girlfriend or wife as well as those who love variety.
Ordinarily, without us, there would be much depression among men
in the country. If you see what we have to bear sometimes, dirty men,
stinking mouths and a lot more. How many women on the streets can
accommodate that?” she asked.
Her colleague, who gave her name as Eki (meaning market in Bini
language), said granting recognition to prostitutes in Nigeria is the
best thing government could do for them.
“In many parts of the world, women are not ashamed to say they are call girls because they are recognised by the society.
In the case of Nigeria, we just overlook the daily insults from
both children and adults as well as the usual harassment from the police
just to keep hope alive.
Sincerely, we are not regarded as members of the society, we don’t have the freedom to do what we like because of the stigma.
If the government cannot provide us jobs or put us on a welfare
scheme to prevent us from taking to this means of livelihood, then it
should recognise us as doing legitimate business,” she said.
She also called for support from non-government and rights
organisations, saying they are in a better position to help in the
fight.
The International s*x Workers’ Rights Day is marked on 3 March every
year to call the world’s attention to the plight of s*x workers and
demand for their rights.
With the red umbrella as its symbol, the day came into existence in
2001 with a protest of over 25,000 s*x workers organised by the Durbar
Mahila Samanwaya Committee in India.
In South Africa, Sisonke, the only movement of s*x workers in the
country is commemorating the day with a march across streets to call for
an end to injustices against s*x workers and demand the recognition of
prostitution as a legitimate job.
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