(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
Bangladesh is home to one of the largest brothels in the world. The daughters of sex workers often have little choice but to follow in their mothers' footsteps. Local activists in Daulatdia are doing what they can to stop this.
This content was published on
December 20, 2024 - 09:00
8 minutes
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German Departme
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Den Kreislauf der sexuellen Ausbeutung brechen: Das Bordell von Daulatdia
Original
Read more: Den Kreislauf der sexuellen Ausbeutung brechen: Das Bordell von Daulatdi
Italiano
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Lotta contro lo sfruttamento sessuale: il bordello di Daulatdia
Read more: Lotta contro lo sfruttamento sessuale: il bordello di Daulatdi
In the afternoon, the Daulatdia brothel is quiet. Women sit outside their rooms looking at their mobile phones; men transport goods through the narrow alleyways; some children play. Come evening, clients will flock to the area, where gambling and drugs, as well as sexual services, are on offer.
The Daulatdia brothel is considered to be one of the biggest in the world, with between 1,300 and 1,500 prostitutes working there. The small town of Daulatdia is a major transport hub, and the brothel is said to have existed since British colonial times. According to NGOs, some 3,000 clients come here each day, many of them passing through on their way to the capital Dhaka, 70km away.
The Brahmaputra and Padma rivers converge at Daulatdia. Not so long ago, the only way to cross the water was by ferry, but since the building of a bridge, traffic has picked up. This also means fewer prostitutes are working in Daulatdia, because of a drop in the number of clients. The women's already precarious financial situation has thus become even worse. On top of this, the country is in a dire economic state.
Until a few years ago, there were an estimated 2,000 prostitutes working in Daulatdia, but today there are fewer than 1,500.
Munir Uz Zaman / AFP
Why we are writing about this
Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognise Bangladesh as an independent state after it seceded from Pakistan in 1971 in a war that resulted in enormous losses. Since then, both the Swiss development agency SDC and numerous NGOs have been active in the country.
The activities described here are carried out by the local organisation Mukti Mohila Samity (MMS). It implements projects as a partner of the Swiss children's aid organisation Terre des HommesExternal link (TdH).
During the week of December 16-20, the fundraising organisation Swiss SolidarityExternal link is organising a Solidarity Week. The donations collected will be used to fund projects to protect children from violence and abuse, including the projects described here.
Swiss Solidarity is the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SWI swissinfo's parent company.
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