The Dancing Girls of

Lahore

BY LOUISE BROWN

Aymen Rehan Khan

Introduction to the
Author

• Louise Brown
• Sociologist and Academic
 • An account of the lives of
‘the dancing girls’ of
Heera Mandi and the
exploitative nature of their
profession.
• Explores themes of gender
discrimination, sexual
exploitation, and cycles of
Overview abuse in the redlight
district of Pakistan.
 “Giving birth to a girl was like
producing your own personal
pension plan.”
“probably for the first time, Women are seen as
Nena is exercising a form of A patriarchal system
that thrives off the commodities and
power” cycle of inter objectified and valued
generational for their bodies rather
“The daughter of a dancing girl
oppression. than by their
always becomes a dancing personhood.
girl.”

Intergenerational cycles of sex

work and poverty
 An exploration of inequality of gender
“What can I do when my daughter is a
and sexuality
dirty prostitute?”

• The marginalization and social stigma faced

by the dancing girls reflect the broader
“It’s acceptable for a rich man to have societal attitudes towards women in
many wives, and extramarital affairs are Pakistan.
almost compulsory for a man of status.”
• Criminalization of sex and unequal
backlash.

“The sons of nachne wali don’t marry

• The difference in treatment between the
dancing girls: their first wives are girls of sons and daughters of the prostitutes.
unquestioned virtue.”
Marginalization within an already marginalized community

• Hierarchal systems within Heera “I am a 10,000 Rupee

Mandi woman!”

• Assigning of monetary value to the

women.
• A lack of solidarity “They can’t dance or sing.
They sell their bodies, that’s
all.”
A gender and Development Perspective

Raise awareness
An insight into
and work towards
social stigma and
A need for the elimination of
discrimination
intersectionality in discriminatory
within a
development efforts practices that limit
marginalized
women’s agency in
community
Pakistan.
Thankyou.