India: Secrets to A Bright Future

To start off, I'd like to apologize for the lack of blog posts over the last week. I've been extremely busy with homework, 7 AM basketball practices and sleep. This past week has been disastrous especially because I came down with a cold, a stuffy nose and sore throat.

Anyway, a few days ago, I read that many teenage girls in India are forced into prostitution. India isn't the only country that encourages this practice: Thailand, Cambodia, and many other Asian/Middle Eastern countries are all involved in the trade. But the girls are not abducted and then forced in by some mysterious trafficker, they're forced in by their own family. Their mother, father, brother and sisters. This has long been the tradition passed down by their ancestors, they see it as a way to increase the family income, as a way for the family to live better off the prostitution of the girls.

A red light traffic area in India

The girls enter during their teenage years, and work until they're in their late 30s. In a country like India, where work for women is far more harder to find than in North America, a daily income of 1000-1500 rupees ($12-$15) dollars by serving 10 - 12 customers a day seem like a irresistible deal. I mean it's understandable, there are so many unbelievable things that people would be for money. Especially in a country where money doesn't come easily.

Many prostitutes in the trade find it hard to quit, mostly because of they're so used to the daily massive income. Therefore, the only possible solution would be for the girls to never enter the trade in the first place. Education, education, education. It is the key. The girls need to learn there ARE other options than just prostitution.

Note: The girl is not Priya

A mother, who's in the trade right now named Meena, had called her experience hard work. She sometimes defends the industry but blames her family for the burden that she now carries. She has to support her family, as well as her sister and brother's family.

Meena herself has a daughter named Priya, but she does not wish that her daughter follows in her footsteps, but rather receive a better education and follow her dream, which is to become an actress. Girls need to achieve equality. The movement began in North America in the late 1900s, hope will continue a long time down the road in the future.