In a state riddled with patriarchy and draconian khap panchayats, it is hard to even hope that the lives of women living there will be anything but uncomfortable. Haryana has also the worst sex ratio in the country – a factor that contributes to many women being forced into flesh trade with no one standing up for their rights.
However, that is no longer the case. Not for Haryana State Commission for Women vice-chairperson Suman Dhaiya at least, who has called for legalising prostitution in the state to protect women who are forced into flesh trade from harassment.
According to a report in The Times of India, the state commission vice- chairperson has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor of Haryana Kaptan Singh Solanki, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the National Commission for Women chairperson, requesting the legalisation of prostitution in the state.
We need to save girls and women from entering into this profession due to their compulsions. The other alternative is that this may be legalized so that women and girls who unluckily become victims and are forced into prostitution are not harassed by the authorities or the society. This is the right time to make all efforts to check this crime before it takes alarming proportions and spoils the lives of many innocent women and girls.
– Suman Dhaiya to The Times of India
Dhaiya doesn’t simply call for legalising prostitution, but also insists for more involvement of women’s rights activists and NGOs, so that the issue can be handled in a sensitive manner.
According to her, despite an active state counter machinery, prostitution is still spreading rapidly in the state. She claimed hundreds of girls were being forced into prostitution by gangs and thereafter forcefully converted to Islam and sold in Arabian countries.
Some countries in the West have legalized prostitution. One can study how that has affected crimes against women....but nobody will come forward to say this openly due to threat to their lives.
– Suman Dhaiya to The Times of India
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