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Situation of the Sex workers in Bangladesh: Experience from Banyashanta Brothel 
Situation of the Sex workers in Bangladesh:Experience from Baniyashanta Brothel
Khan Sarfaraz Ali
∗
Abstract
 Bangladesh is a low-lying riverine country in South Asia. Most of the people of this country still depend on agriculture or alike occupations for their livelihood. Due to physical advantage male people engage themselves in laborious and outside jobs. On the other hand, female group aremostly involved in household activities and less laborious jobs. Very few of them are engaged inreputed jobs. The disappointing picture is to mention that a good number of women in Bangladesh are engaged in sex work. Among them few are disguised and others have received this work as occupation. Except the floating sex workers, others use to live in the brothels. The present study is an endeavor to illustrate the situation of the sex workers in Bangladesh with aview to show a gateway for their greater wellbeing. The study has been undertaken to contributeto both our general knowledge on sex work and to suggest a series of action for the well being of the sex workers. This piece of writing will work as a basis for the policy makers and planexecutors to adopt realistic plans to empower and enlighten the
sex workers
to lead acomfortable life.
 
 A unique feature of the article is its journalistic style. All information in it arecarefully organized. This will be very important resource for anyone interested in sex-work and  sex-workers in Bangladesh.
 
The purpose of this article is to explore the entire situation of the sexworkers in Bangladesh.
Methodology
This study is the result of a series of interview and life experiences of the sex workers who areliving in Banyashanta brothel, one of the famous and ancient brothels in Bangladesh. Though thestudy is based on primary data, secondary information also has been used to enrich the structure.This is a qualitative type of study and case study method was applied for this purpose. Aquestionnaire containing both structured and unstructured questions was developed to collect datafrom the respondents. Direct participation in the interview with the sex workers and observationtechniques were also active during the study period. 160 sex workers from the study area wereinterviewed directly to gather information.
Study Area
Secondary data shows, few studies have been conducted in brothel areas earlier to know thestatus of sex work in Bangladesh. But still there is a lack of sufficient studies on situationof the sex workers. A significant number of the sex workers live besides the river or forest inour country. As a renowned spot for the sex workers in Bangladesh, Banyashanta, a small village beside the river Poshur in Khulna district was selected as the study area and dwellers of this brothel were selected as the respondents to get necessary information. As Banyashanta representsother brothels in the country, experience from this brothel will help to get a clear picture about
 
Associate Management Counselor, Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM)
 sarfarazbim@gmail.com
/ 880-01817528067 
1
 
Situation of the Sex workers in Bangladesh: Experience from Banyashanta Brothel 
the situation of sex workers in Bangladesh.
Introduction
Prostitution has always been analyzed as an object of professional knowledge. It is a challenge to bring the voice of sex workers upfront in the academic discussion centering them.
1
 Day by day,sex work is increasing in Bangladesh. Brothel based female sex workers in Bangladesh report thehighest turnover of customers anywhere in Asia. Banyashanta, a small village beside the Mongla port is reputed to be about hundred years old, where the British sailors and merchants (in bangla
‘Beniya’ 
) used to come and enjoy with beautiful ladies. Since then this brothel is famous asBanyashanta. Sex workers from different part of this sub-continent rushed there and startedearning through this occupation. By the passage of time this brothel lost its glamour, foreigncustomers and earning of the sex workers are gradually shrinking as the port is not running like before. At present, about two hundred sex workers and their families are living from hand tomouth in this brothel. It is quite difficult to illustrate the scenario of the sex workers of this brothel how wretched they are in this millennium age. The internal migration from the country aswell as overseas migration from others countries create demands for the services of the sexworkers in Bangladesh.
Definition of Sex worker
A
 sex worker 
is a person who works in thesex industry, specifically, a person who commerciallytrades in sex or sexual stimulation.
2
 The term is usually used in reference to those in the sexindustry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of suchindustries. Some sex workers are paid to engage in sexually explicit behavior which involvesvarying degrees of physical contact with customers (sex workers,escorts
 
);  pornography models and actors engage in sexually explicit behavior which is filmed or photographed. Phone sexoperators have sexually-oriented conversations with customers. Other sex workers are paid toengage in live sexual performance, such asweb cam sex and phone sex
3
and performers in livesex shows. Some sex workers perform erotic dances and other acts for an audience (striptease,  Go-Go dancing, burlesque,  peep shows). Although the term is sometimes viewed as asynonymor euphemismfor prostitution, the term is meant as a general term for erotic labor in any of the different parts of the sex industry,hence, strippers and performers in pornography (who generally do not define themselves as sexworkers) are also considered sex workers. The term
 sex worker 
was coined in 1980 by sex worker activistCarol Leigh. Its use became popularized after publication of the anthology,
Sex Work:Writings by Women in the Sex Industry
in 1987.
4[5][6] 
The term
 sex worker 
has since spread into
1
Chowdhury, R. (2004, Aug) “Take Care of Your Problem, Not Mine”: Sex Workers’ Standpoint versus theSociety, the State and the Anti - Sex Work Feminists of Bangladesh
2
Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" "sex industry"
3
Weitzer, Ronald. 2000.
Sex For Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry
(New York:Routledge Press)
4
 
Sex work: writings by women in the sex industry
edited by Frédérique Delacoste and Priscilla Alexander,Cleis Press, 1991 (2nd ed).ISBN 0939416115.
5
 The Etymology of the terms ‘Sex Work’ and ‘Sex Worker ’,
 BAYSWAN.org 
. Accessed 2009-09-11.
6
 
Whores and other feminists
, edited by Jill Nagle, Routledge, 1997.ISBN 0415918227.2
 
Situation of the Sex workers in Bangladesh: Experience from Banyashanta Brothel 
much wider use, including in academic publications, by  NGOsand labor unions, and by governmental and intergovernmental agencies, such as theWorld Health Organization.The term is listed in theOxford English Dictionaryand Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary.
7
The term is strongly opposed, however, by many who are morally opposed to the sexindustry, such associal conservatives, anti-prostitution feminists, and other prostitution abolitionists. Such groups view prostitution variously as a crime or as victimization, and see theterm ‘sex work’ as legitimizing criminal activity or exploitation as a type of labor.
8[9]
In the viewof  Melissa Farleyand other anti-prostitution feminists, all forms of sex work, including stripping and performing in pornography, are simply different types of prostitution. Some anti-prostitutionfeminists, such asSheila Jeffreys, prefer the term
 sex workerd woman
(and analogous terms suchas ‘sex workerd child’) to emphasize the victimization they see as inherent in such activity. Sincethere are numerous types of sex workers, this is just the definition of prostitution: (in most states)a lewd act for money or other consideration. This may be worded slightly differently in eachstate, but has the general meaning of the touching of breasts, buttocks or genitals for the purposeof sexual gratification or arousal.
Types of Sex Workers
On the basis of nature and location, sex workers are classified into following categories:
a)
Seasonal sex workers:
Especially in the season of any festival like: Eid, Puja,Christmas etc. these sex workers come out
 
and search for customers. Most of them migratefrom the rural and under developed areas to the urban areas in a specific season of thecalendar year.
b)
Commercial sex workers:
Commercial sex is an ancient and widespread phenomenon. Commercial sex takes place in many kinds of ways and involves many differenttypes of people, many of whom are in no way stereotypical. People from various backgroundsand classes sell sex and they do so for a broad range of reasons. These reasons often change over time. Some people sell sex as a full-time occupation, while others sell sex only occasionally.Although some people are willing sex workers and others are pressured to sell sex, it is nothelpful to see sex work as either voluntary or forced. In fact, between the educated andresourceful woman who chooses commercial sex from a broad range of possibilities and the poor,uneducated woman who is physically forced to do it, there is a whole continuum of situations.For example, some people suffer pressure from familiars, but have the possibility to stop sexworking if they wish. Others see sex work as a bearable occupation, rather than an ideal one,which is how many, or even most, people feel about their jobs. Commercial sex involves severalactors apart from the sex worker and the client. These people are owners, managers and staff of commercial sex and entertainment establishments, partners and families of sex workers, supportstaff such as maids, cleaners, receptionists and security. Taxi drivers, tourist guides and hotel
7
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ‘sex worker ’
8
Melissa Farley,
Yale Journal of Law and Feminism
18(1):109–144, Spring 2006.
9
Baptie, Trisha (2009-04-29). 
Sex worker ? Never met one !
.
Sisyphe.org 
.http://sisyphe.org/spip.php?article3290.Retrieved 2009-09-123
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