The Lady of Night

“I was as pure as White,

when Mother Nature left me at night.

  Had a body to feed

 with hunger pangs to eat up my other needs.

  Fate asked me to use the same body;

 Once again, leaving me helpless amongst everybody.

   I decided to live with dignity;

 Wiped the tears to start a journey against my proclivity.

   Today, I confess to be proud of what I am,

  besieged by depravity, I treaded without a sham.

   Rented my build, but never sold my soul;

        Who says my presence makes atmosphere foul.

   I am The Lady of Night,

  And I am still as pure as White!  ”

As a thing in demand paves way for its business, the amoral act of selling sexual services started since civilizations. Practising prostitution no matter out of circumstances or choice, prostitutes initially did enjoy a status, respect and rights equal to any other normal citizen. However, gradually they were devalued on moral grounds to the level that they are now seen as socially unacceptable. The society looks upon them as guilty and criminals who have no rights to live like normal citizens and should be detained for doing something immoral (according to them). In this the johns never face any question of acceptability. Politically, socially or religiously people’s attitudes are tamed to imbibe that the most important thing about a woman is her chastity and that this rule doesn’t apply to their opposite sex. Even morals are flexed to follow double standards. By the end of 15^th century, outlook towards prostitutes changed perhaps owing to the outbreak of STDs in European region and movements started to eradicate prostitution. One smart way to make people voluntarily forbear something is to term that thing immoral and obscene. Thus, people under their own moral values, church and leaders started considering the lady of night as disdainful. As many people in prominent positions were also their customers the question of morality never haunted the johns. Thus, it was only the prostitutes who were blamed for degradation of human society and were looked down upon.

There is no second thought that it is indispensable to check spread of diseases, but that cannot happen by shifting blames upon a section of people and questioning their social acceptability. Moreover, doing anything that is unscrupulous according to you, that brings you qualms should not be attributed outrightly base for the whole mankind for your hardships, ambitions and circumstances do not match theirs, unless private actions of the parties involved do offend general public or damage a third person. Morals are there to make one’s own life organized, not to judge people based upon your level of understanding and principles and categorize them. The use of ‘your level of understanding’ in the previous line is deliberate. Criminals inflicting arson, blackmail, burglary, embezzlement, corruption, theft, wife abuse, etc. except for trial are never faced with a situation whereby their acceptance is questioned, whereas prostitutes are alleged outlaws to most. No doubt that it’s in society’s purview to tend citizens with good character and guard against malefactor. However, it also needs to civilize people to realize that a person’s character lies in his/her uprightness not chastity. Especially conservative and bourgeois societies should reform their frame of mind and stop being preoccupied with notions of reputation based on absurd measures and double standards.

In free societies it’s a matter of freedom of choice and people should acknowledge that as with every other professional prostitute may well have a family. They deserve no lesser respect than you do yourself. St. Augustine held that: "If you expel prostitution from society, you will unsettle everything on account of lusts.” No matter how much noble your intentions are to eradicate this from societies unless you take concrete steps like providing a decent employment thereby living conditions it is not going to count. Also for developing countries it is not possible that governments have window to implement this idea. Hence, a matured society should at least have guts to accept reality and understand that prohibitionist or abolitionist views would only worsen the situation perhaps for people on both the sides of the transaction and more for the prostitutes who already battle for their acceptance. If society prohibits any such acts, it would still continue surreptitiously for which the sufferers are the prostitutes especially the lowest layer ones who are also the most vulnerable subgroup among them. Moreover attaching the whole issue with morals does nothing but aggravates their plight. A prohibitionist approach is just turning a blind eye to the problem in the name of morals and dumping any chance of reforms that could help prostitutes attain legal rights to protect themselves against exploitation at least until the world becomes utopian. Also other issues like spread of STDs and trafficking would also be in check with regularization of prostitution. As a thought if prostitution (or related organized activity) is legalized, even regularized the cases of trafficking should increase. Contradictory to the belief it would decrease because then prostitutes would be covered by law and thereby feel empowered enough to stand against the perpetrators which would inhibit traffickers indulging in such activities. Now without this both would be seen as criminals; this leaves no option for the prostitutes but to continue tolerating in an unjust world. However, only decriminalization of prostitutes would not serve the purpose, change in people’s attitude towards them will help them greatly to get back to a life of dignity which they deserve.

Let’s work upon our own to refine our character to the level that we would embrace humanity against criticism.