FEMALE LABOUR INTRODUCTION In female labour I am focusing on prostitution and sex trafficking.

Firstly, I will define the meaning of prostitution and prostitutes. Their conditions and position in the society and how society regard them. I will also define the role of the state in the condition of prostitutes and I will define the venereal diseases act that came up during colonial period and their effect on the prostitutes. In the end I will show their plight through the three bollywood songs that were related to the institution of prostitution. The songs are: Mar Dala- devdas Man sat samandar dol gaya- chameli Agle janam mohe bitiya na kijo- Umrao jaan Tumhari mehfil mein- Umrao jaan

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute. The word prostitute is derived from the latin word prostitute. pro meaning up front or forward and siture defined as to offer up for sale. A literal meaning can be: to put up front for sale or to place forward. The alternative word used for prostitutes is whore. The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country, from being punishable to a regulated profession. Most sex worker activists group rejects the word prostitute and since the late 1970s have used the term sex worker instead. However, a sex worker also means anyone who works widin the sex industry or whose work is of sexual nature and is not limited solely to prostitutes. We have seen that there is a shift in image of prostitute as an innocent victim of social injustice to one that portrayed as a threatening social problem. We have seen that during colonial period the institution of prostitution was supported by the state in the beginning and they do not interfere with this but when venereal diseases spread like an epidemic they condemn prostitutes.

They restricted their movement and locked them in hospitals which were set up for this cause. They were subjected to internal examination in which they were humiliated. The state, officials and the people in power called them the army of fallen women. It gave them opportunity to dictate the life of these women. During colonial period they started registering the prostitutes and differentiating the common prostitutes. They divided them into two categories: first, who will serve the European aristocratic class, second, who will serve only natives. The first class prostitutes were not allowed to have sexual intercourse with the native men. If they were found out guilty of such act they were punished and fined. This also had a race angle to it. The question of white and black. It is witnessed that the black women was subjected to mote humiliation than a white woman during the medical examination. In present times the sex workers live in a coercive environment. They face violence from police and criminals. They had many physical and mental problems. The female sex workers had right to: Bodily integrity Pleasure

 Livelihood Self- determination A safe working environment The problem lies here in the perspective of the society. They see a prostitute as someone inferior, no reputation and without respect. Why? Because she sell her body for earning her livelihood. The society does not see their earning as honest. But she is like everyone else. The society should be broad minded in its approach. According to the state officials the institution of prostitution should be eradicated because it is evil and will taint the society. But will it not taint the society when they themselves go to them for the sexual favours. In a way they are ones who are responsible for their condition and position in the society. From outside they are against this institution but internally they are the ones who are supporting this. In public they say that they will eradicate this social evil and will find them the respectable jobs. But this is only the one side of a coin. The state and its officials have definitely had the double standards and they are manipulating the society for their own good. The other part of it is sex trafficking which is also known as the forced prostitution. The girls were kidnapped at a very tender age and sold into this institution. It is also viewed as a darker side of globalization.

On one hand globalization, along with macro- economic reforms has created paid jobs for women and facilitated womens mobility across the borders and within in search of employment. On the other hand, it has also created opportunities for traffickers to make use of the social vulnerabilities of many women to entice and coerce them into increasingly lucrative sex industry. The control of female sexuality has been one of the easiest form of patriarchal dominance, and female prostitution has long been identified as form of deviant behavior that separates the sexually pure good woman from the sexually promiscuous bad woman/whore. In patriarchal male dominated society the controlling of female sexuality is the symbol of their male power, strength and dominance. The burden of the morals and values are always placed on the a womans shoulder. The society will dictate its terms that how should she will behave, what is proper and what is not. The man is always free from this burden. There are no rules to dictate his life but in fact he dictate the rules. The freedom was never given to females in our society because according them they will become stray and that wont be allowed. The woman should be faithful to his husband to towards her duties. But its not a necessary condition for a husband as he can take as many mistresses as he wish. It shows his masculinity. In our society the women were seen as mere chattels in male hands

who can direct them as they wish. They do not have free will. They are treated as slaves without wish and will. The shame and stigma associated with female sex work and illegality of prostitution in most countries worldwide had pushed the activity underground. This had resulted in trafficking becoming the primary means of forced recruitment in to the global sex industry. Trafficking og females to feed the sex industry occurs both domestically and internationally. Regional statistics on female sex vary and difficult to estimate with precision, but is believed that between 600,000 and 800,000 are trafficked across the international borders each year. 70% are females and 50% are children which are sold into commercial sex trade. The flow of human trafficking for sexual exploitation involves almost every country in an intricate web. The roots of trafficking are structural and systematic and prevention efforts must address some of the fundamental issues that render women vulnerable to sex trafficking. This include the profound disadvantages for women in terms of poverty, education and wage employment. The intensive use of internet to promote the global sex industry is also a major facilitator of female sex trafficking. The anti- trafficking measures are immediate/ reactive, strategic or structural. The former are event related and involves a specific

individual or a group. These activities require an urgency of rescuing a girl or a woman from the recruiters and preventing possible trafficking incidents. Few NGOs work in this area. This type of work came under lawenforcement sectors of the government. The rescue operation demands immediate shelter for potential victims and it is offered by NGOs.

The interpretation of songs: All these songs are related are related to brothels and bars. In the picturisation of these songs the women who were singing are all victims of the institution of prostitution. Either they were kidnapped at very tender age, forced into it or took it as last resort. Poverty and unemployment often leads to this. But in eyes of society it is not respectable occupation but they do not understand that every picture cant be perfect. If they are leading a comfortable life that doesnt mean everyone had a comfortable life. They failed in seeing the hardships of this occupation. They dont see that it can be their last resort.