Assignment

Submitted to

Dr. Ayesha Ashfaq

Language & Communication (English)

Submitted by

Kinza Hussain

Roll No: MSc M19-20

Semester 1st
MSc. (Morning) 2019-2021
Institute of Communication Studies
University of the Punjab, Lahore
 The Dancing Girls of Lahore
Writer: Louise Brown

Pages: 290

Publisher: Harper Collins

Originally published: 2005

Ratings: 3.8/5 Goodreads

ISBN: 0060740434 / 978-0060740436

"Chilling and heartwarming...Ms. Brown has a sociologist's eye and novelist's appreciation of the human
drama that plays out before her"—New York Times

Introduction: This book was based on the true story of Heera Mandi and women trafficking in Asia. Louise
Brown had spent her five years of professional life as an academic researching about prostitution and
trafficking of women in Asia. She lived in Heera Mandi (Diamond Market) temporarily where she learned
lots of new things and situations. This story specially based on the dancing girl of Heera Mandi and her
family.

In the first chapter, MS Brown thoroughly described the living standard of people who lived near Heera
Mandi. She described the life of a dancing girl named Maha.Maha had many children. She was the second
wife of Adnan. They had two children together.Maha had many other relationships before her marriage to
Adnan because she was a prostitute and did anything for money. People visited Heera Mandi for fun or to
fulfil their sexual desires. Most of the people liked underage girls. They liked virgined women. In past 50
years, the dancing girls was very popular among people not for their body features but people liked their
dances and their performances. They were artists.... not gandi kanjri's.Girls in Heera Mandi grow up in a
completely different environment from ordinary Pakistani girls. A girl who gave birth to a daughter. She was
lucky because she was producing her own personal pension plan.Maha also had daughters. She had to train
her daughters like her .Maha used to teach her daughters that how to dance, how to decorate herselves for a
customer. Because a prostitute's daughter would also become a prostitute. Sometimes Maha was very
unhappy with her life. She had done many suicidal attempts but she failed. In Regina of Kings, singers and
dancers performed exclusively for the royal household. The writer also gave the example: The Emperor
Akbar kept five thousand women in his hareem. Then the writer Louise Brown explained her personal
experience about a man.When she was in Data Ganj Bakhsh aurs, a middle-aged man stopped in front of her
and said " l love you”. He spoke again and again. Then he tried with money. He said “I have much money.
Come with me. How much do you want? “She said Heera Mandi sparkled less and less when the military
government of Ayub Khan started because in his period Islamization was very important from anything.
Two types of sex workers live in modern Heera Mandi: one the traditional Kanjar families and second the
new entrants to the profession. In the first chapter, she also explained about the difference of dancing in
subcontinent when Pakistan and India were together. Before 1947 partition, in India women sang for Kings.
They were artists because they worked for the Maharaja and now in Heera Mandi cheap women run their
own business by using their bodies. They were spoilt their name and people called their Gandi Kanjari's
because they represents their bodies for sex, man gave money in back.
 In second chapter, we learned about the prostitute’s weddings, how it effects their first children when they
got married with another men .Their husband did not take care for their previous child’s. They took care of
their own children. Men had a right to marriage with four wives at a time. Sex outside marriage is
technically illegal for everyone in Pakistan, but this rule did not apply to men Farida, Ursula,Maha and so
many other women who suffered from that rule. They were being a second wives of their husband. They
only plays with their bodies. Then she described about Tibbi Gali.You can easily got lost in this part of
Heera Mandi.Tibbi Gali are very worst market because women have said it themselves "they are kharab _
bad, spoiled”. “They can't dance or sing". They sell their bodies, that's all and they do it for nothing- for one
hundred and fifty rupees. Wearing a veil is a sign of respectability, but no one wears a dupatta in Tibbi Gali
because it's used to cover the hair and breasts.

In third chapter the writer describe the calculator of love. It's about a thought that how much money you
spend and then how much love you received. “Big Love: Big Money". She went with Maha on Lal Shahbaz
Qalandar’s urs in Sawan. Louise had a great fight with Maha.Maha said you are boring you did not
understand. Then she introduced her new friend Tasneem who lived with Khusra's because she did not had a
house. Then she asked about Mullah Ali's Tazia. The 20th of Ramazan is an important day for Shia Muslim
calendar. It is the death anniversary of Hazrat Ali.She explained about Aids. Where did the disease come
from? The prostitutes get AlDs from dirty men.

The fourth chapter based on Shia and Sunni conflicts. Islam is fractured into many groups. The most
important group is between Sunni and Shia. On the 10th of Muharram, Shia was performing matam.In Heera
Mandi, Shia community impress their visitors, and it show them the scars on their men's backs, how much
they bled. In the whole month of Muharram, they went to Majalis, everyone from Heera Mandi was taking
part in the ziyarat.

In fifth chapter, the reader knows about Nena and Misha's wedding because of virginity. Virginity is an
important marker of owner ship and valuable commodity. In taking a girl's virginity outside marriage, a man
deprives a girl of a husband and a family of its honor. Nen went to Dubai for attending a dance
performance.So she made a good marriage because it's a reality of Heera Mandi." The daughter of a tawaif
is always a tawaif"The prostitutes and the drug users live Sid by side in Heera Mandi.They had enough
money to bought drugs and enjoyed themselves with local women.

In sixth chapter, when the writer came back to Pakistan during winter season. It was very bad time to visit
Pakistan for Americans because Osama bin Laden incident occurred in America. She was very frightened of
big men in Pathani-style Turbans. In Heera Mandi, women did not aware about those incident because they
did not read newspapers and their radio and TV were tuned to music channels. All of things were changed in
Heera Mandi the dancing style, the make up ،the women apply new techniques to got money from Tamash
been .Maha moved in new house near Heera Mandi.After some incident Maha had arrested, police kicked
her down to street, beating her with a leather belt in front of all the neighbours.Adnan went to police station
and gave large bribe to police.

In the last chapter, the writer told about the pure souls lived in Heera Mandi.They had earned money after
sold their bodies but they help each other, took care of themselves.In this time, many of the kothas were
shut. Only a handful of performances rooms were open. The old Heera Mandi are being eclipsed and the
world of the traditional brothels is almost at an end. No more nawabs and very few cultured tawaifs can be
found in Shahi-Mohalla. Today all the girls in Heera Mandi will aspire to be an actress but most will settle
for a dancing tour in the Gulf.Maha said it's a good work and that her daughters can make a handsome
profit. Traveling on airplanes, staying in hotels and joining an international scene is a glamorous escape
from the stigma of being a kanjri in Heera Mandi.The prostitutes only married an old man just for money
and gold when men had no money. She left him and went away because it had no purpose anymore. Then
she was found another rich man.When the prostitutes was expecting, she wished that she had a baby boy
because when a man make her his second wife.

When we read this book, we will aware about different things that happen in Heera Mandi .In Lahore most
of the community will not aware about such type of Market. Which types of women is living in this
market.How they make a lot of money. But in Pakistan, we did not discuss such types of things openly
because it will affect our family's honor.Maha and her daughters worked hard to got money and become
actresses. They had many relations with men .We will aware about women trafficking in Lahore.

Louise Brown is an American writer. She come to Lahore for collecting information about human
trafficking for her book. She represents the bad image of Pakistan in front of the world. In India ,many
women raped for no reason but the cases will not field just because of honour.The book isn't preferable to
every age slot as it is drawing some vigilance attention towards sexuality and the ill norms of the
prostitution.

So we conclude that the writer come several times in Pakistan and visiting Heera Mandi.This market will
destroying the good image of Pakistan because it's all illegal according to our religion. Just for their survival,
women sold their bodies and get money in back .And the men benefit from these vulnerable women.