The Following letter to the Editor was published in the New Indian Express today (24^th May, ’09):

 

 

 

 

Root Causes

Strange as it may sound, but (sic) one of the main reasons for the insecurity of women in Kerala is the late marriage of the men (in) the state. In a society where pre-marital sex is still a taboo, the only way to release sexual energy is through marriage. With the men, this largely happens only in their late twenties or thirties. I fail to understand why our society and law opposes the running of prostitution centres. Lend a tag of legality to brothels, and it would only act as a measure of safety of our sisters. I am a father of two school-aged girls, and I strongly argue for the opening of prostitution centres for a better Kerala society.

-          Seby Joseph, Thrissur

There are several things I would like to point out in the composition of this letter, before commenting upon the larger implications. Note the line, “Lend a tag of legality to brothels, and it would only act as a measure of safety of our sisters”, emphasising the protection from sexual violence of the “sisters” as opposed to the creation of a class of prostitutes as a tool of pleasure.  Again, in “I am a father of two school-aged girls, and I strongly argue for the opening of prostitution centres for a better Kerala society” – the author seems to consider sex workers, many of whom would not be much older than school-age, undeserving of the protection he intends to give his children.  Further, “the only way to release sexual energy is through marriage”. At the cost of sounding like Gandhi at his sermonizing best, is marriage only a means for the man to release his sexual energies?

Arguments in favour of the legalization of prostitution have been considered before on this webzine, and the most prominent argument on this behalf is that sex workers would be empowered to negotiate terms of safe sex and reasonable payment, in a state where prostitution is legal. Joseph’s argument in favour of legalized prostitution as a means for men to vent their sexual frustrations is very deeply disconcerting as well as backward. He seems to ask for the creation of a class of women, whom we might offer up as sacrificial lambs to potential rapists and molesters, to ensure the protection of “respectable” women and girls. In his estimation, it appears that we as a society, should stand by and watch, as those who may have raped our privileged daughters, instead rape the daughters of other, not-so-privileged people (studies show that 80% of sex workers in countries where prostitution is legal have been abused or raped). A few years later, we’ll preside as our daughters and “sisters”, as the author himself put it, marry these abusive men, whose sexual urges, they are now duty-bound to satisfy (on the pain of further sexual violence?).

If indeed, we were to give sanction to what Seby Joseph says is a means for “a better Kerala”, how would we be any better than those who govern Afghanistan, where a draconian law permitting marital rape was passed? The dichotomizing of sex workers as the women who are “fair game” for these men -who apparently have uncontrollable sexual urges that manifest themselves in acts of violence – and “respectable” girls, as the brides who must ultimately marry these perpetrators, is unhealthy, and while it further stigmatizes the sex worker and binds every other woman in this nebulous but apparently inescapable shroud of chastity, it also puts both classes of women at the receiving end – both are ultimately victims of socially sanctioned sexual violence. Further this sharp division between the respectable “sister” woman, and the sex-worker, is bound to deter any change in norms towards a more sexually liberal society.

Sexual violence, like all other forms of violence, is a violation of the human right to life and liberty and must be treated as such, with no exception. Lust or the apparently too-big-to-hold-back sexual urges of men have nothing to do with it. Legalizing prostitution by way of creation of a sort of buffer zone is the most barbaric solution to this problem. Sex work may need to be given legal protection for any number of other reasons, but legalizing it in order that men may now, with legal protection, abuse women, is nothing less than legalizing rape – a traumatic and violent crime – under certain circumstances.

Further, Joseph’s letter, in consonance with popular notions, shows no acknowledgement of a woman’s desire in sex. That a man has sexual energies that he will want to expend, even at the cost of being violent or raping women, is taken for granted. It is this attitude that keeps marital rape well and alive in this country, with a host of other scourges such as incest, child sexual abuse within the home etc. all justified by men and women alike with the excuse “he’s a man. He has needs.” This writer wonders why men do not write back when such ideas are expressed, to register their consternation at being treated – as a sex – as such weak and insecure creatures, who feel compelled to make a display of power in rape.

Joseph’s views are alarming, and one can only hope that he represents no large opinion group. Putting women on the block and subjecting them to sexual subordination for any reason is inexcusable. And it’s medieval and feudal to claim you can protect your people (if you can even call what he proposes protection) by putting other people who are not “sisters” in the line of fire.

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The Author
 Sneha Krishnan is an economics-obsessed, pasta-loving history student bound for Oxford this fall. She is usually found curled up in sofas with her ever-present macbook perched on some surface in the vicinity. Sneha first started thinking about doing Sa when she and Shweta realized that they were ranting about the day's news/ happenings practically everyday and everything they said had something to do with their feminist convictions. So they wondered how it would be to write about these things and more... and KaBoom... seven months and laborious code-learning (trial and error, the only method for us) sessions later, Sa came to be. Sneha’s favourite pastimes, besides feminism and Sa, are reading the New York Times, playing Scrabble and watching every movie that looks remotely interesting.

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