Tangail is about three hours by bus from Dhaka and is famous for producing clothes and textiles. The town also has a square-shaped neighbourhood furrowed by long, narrow, right-angled corridors. This small district is the Tangail brothel. One does not notice it unless one has been informed of its existence. There are no obvious signs of what goes on inside it. In Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country, prostitution has been legalised, but the practice is outside the control of government authorities.
Many of these young women have children and dream of a better future, but their dependence on this reality leaves them trapped in a situation that is difficult to escape. Girls who are forced into prostitution from a young age are considered immoral and excluded from social life in the city. Some choose to become sex workers in order to support themselves and their families. This is particularly common among the poorest sections of the population.
The psychological aspect is another deeply troubling element. Normally, the client enters, signals to a woman and withdraws with her for a few minutes into one of these tiny rooms, equipped with a bed and a washbasin. You enter, the transaction takes place, and you leave. Nothing more. I have no idea how many clients a woman might see in a single day, but I imagine the number is somewhere between eight and ten.
The sexual act takes place according to simple and egalitarian rules. Each service has the same rate, i.e. 400TK, just under four euros, and there is no differentiation between one girl and another. In other words, a kind of perfect economic competition reigns. On the other hand, the customer’s preference is entirely random and depends on the availability of the girls at the time.
At the end of it, a veil of sadness and incapacity falls over their faces. The rhythm of these encounters has made them addicted to this type of practice. The madame, who offers us cold drinks, also tells us about their problems and the failure to respect protected sexual intercourse. One severe problem concerns the health sphere. She tells us that they bear the cost of condoms. Sometimes, however, it is not used, and the consequences are easy to imagine: unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. It should also be said that unprotected sexual practice is paid for more by clients, and many of the girls prefer a more substantial gain by granting this possibility to the client who requests it.
Although existing everywhere, prostitution is handled differently depending on the country, customs, religion, and some written or unwritten rules. In Tangail, the local police tolerate this activity, probably in exchange for money or other favours. And this allows a relatively quiet life for those working in the brothel.
