Pros: Thought provoking, breaks some of the old myths!
Cons: Academic style. Attimes the author couldn't hide her contemptousness.Although she tried hard to remain neutral.
The Bottom Line: By exposing myths about prostitution in Pakistan, the book helps eradicate a blind spot in our understanding of power relations experienced by all women throughout our society.
shaista's Full Review: Fouzia Saeed - Taboo!: The Hidden Culture of a Red...
This book is basically an extensive research, based on studying and revealing the mysteries and untold stories of Shahi Mohalla,( Shahi Mohalla means Royal Bazaar) a district in Lahore that maintains the custom of traditional prostitution.
The book tells us about the interrelated stories of the prostitutes with their pimps, managers and customers, as well as musicians and the contributions made by these people to the world of performing arts in Pakistan. There are many misconceptions about prostitution and everyone related to this business, which the author uncovers successfully, and it does change the way you think.
Fouzia Saeed, a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Minnesota, has spent the past twelve years in positions related to the task of engendering social change in Pakistan, with organizations like the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Aga Khan Foundation, and UNDP, Pakistan. She was a founder of the first private organization in Pakistan providing direct services to women in psychological crises, especially those related to rape and domestic violence.
This book introduces us to the traditional prostitution system, in which certain ethnic groups undertake this occupation as their family business. The “Kanjar” (an ethnic group most commonly associated with prostitution) , the “Mirasi” (another ethnic group, they do not work directly but they provide music for “Kanjars” when they entertain their customers. These are the typical ones in Pakistan.
The author tells her story through the lives of people linked to Shahi Mohalla. Her frequent visits to Shahi Mohalla and the efforts she took to gain trust of the people there. In Pakistan, Shahi Mohalla people are only allowed to perform singing and dancing till 1:00 am at night, after that everything must stops. Prostitution is against the law, so whatever happens after 1:00 am is confidential, nothing to talk about or accept openly.
First the author tries to get some some information from the Kanjar women who are directly involved in prostitution, but she did not succeed. Then she chooses an alternative path, that is the musicians. Visiting them regularly, she makes a contact with a Kanjar girl, Laila, who comes to learn music, and become friends with her. Laila invites the author to her place and the stories begin. She gets to know their household, where women earn but are still controlled by their fathers or brothers who work as their pimps. A good daughter in the “Kanjar” families is the one who earns well and settles by making a good match.
“Kanjar” families also marry their daughters. Marriage for them means restricting the services of the girl for just one person, they agree upon a monthly allowance and the girl can only sing or dance but she cannot work as sex worker for anyone else other than the person she marries to. In “Kanjar” families having a daughter means a time for celebration while the birth of the boy brings disappointment. The main source of income for them remains the “ Variety shows” which they perform outside and the dances during the limited time at night.
It revolves around Laila and her household, her problems and the pressure to make a good match by her family, their system’s do’s and don’ts, the girls who work there, their dreams and hopes, their transition from a girl to a prostitute and most importantly its an effort to accept them as a art of our society, as human beings who have feelings, emotions like the rest of us. To break the myths, myths which have long persisted in our system, which discriminates them as immoral women who are responsible for tricking honest men into sinful acts.
It was not easy for the writer to conduct this research as it caused an uneasiness in the higher circles. At the end, the author tries to solve the mystery of this system, who has kept this system working? If its so immoral, then why its still there? How has it survived and still there!
It’s not the type of book in which spicy stories are being told by taking advantage of the subject. The whole emphasis in this book is to make the reader realize the social setup of prostitution and to bring a change which has to come from within the society, to learn about the roots of the culture, folk traditions and the values of Pakistan’s different sub-cultures and classes.As the author puts it, her basic interest was her desire to study women’s role in our society and social taboos related to women’s free and open expression.
It is definitely a must read and a very well observed, authentic information. As the writer states that she wanted to break the myths related to prostitution, which she successfully does, but she couldn’t hide her contempt at times, which I guess is very natural!
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