Sexual exploitation of women down the ages

by Padma EDIRISINGHE

It is not often that Sri Lankans read books on Latin America. But the book, The Children of Sanchez by Prof. Oscar Lewis and the children starring in it never left my mind. One fails to sing praises to this "vivid, complete and internal description of modern poverty, yet that somebody has succeeded in weaving a swarming, violent tapestry of human beings living like rabbits in a warren comes close to the wretched reality.

The focus is mostly on the pernicious influence on women and children, the most vulnerable segments of any society. The men affected just slop the misery in bars, have a laugh mostly at the females via bawdy jokes and come home at midnight to fall asleep on beds or on mats or the floor. Sometimes whole families share one bed.

A few weeks after reading Sanchez, a writer was introduced to me who said that he used my book Kolompura Puravrthaya (Translation of Dr. R.L. Brohier's Changing Face of Colombo) to identify some locations in the city as he did a round of the slums.

My curiosity roused in the aftermath of reading the Mexico saga, I hunted for this book and found it no second to Sanchez in its vivid and almost true to life portrayal of slum life.

It was aptly titled Darkness under the Full Moon (Kaluvarai Purahanda).

The repertoire of bursting population, poorest of amenities, rampant drunkenness, bickering, illegal unions, rape, drug menace, kidnapping of young girls hardly past their teens, neglect and exploitation of children are all there in both.

In fact S.L. Piyawathie, the 'heroine' of Darkness under the Full Moon, address, 15, Martis Lane, Colombo 2. age - 44, race - Sinhala, religion - Buddhism(observes Sil on Poya days), profession - "A coy answer is given that many connect her job with filth"(Eka kunuharupayak), is almost the oriental counterpart of many of the prostitutes that one comes across in "Children of Sanchez".

Degrading influence

What strikes an observant reader of both these books is the degrading influence the appalling poverty and misery in major cities has on women. A cynic may say that readers, especially those with a flair for salacious matter, are more interested in this species and that writers tend to cater to them.

I found that there was truth in both these recently when reading an account of the Summit of the Americas in a newspaper. Again the whole drama takes place in the State of Colombia.

It is a mega political event, ie. The Sixth Summit of the Americas held in Cartagena, Columbia wherever that is. It brings together the main political icons of Canada, the USA, the Carribean and the Latin Americas to resolve. economic and other common issues.

But the article has a headline that refers to prostitutes of this country. Barrack Obama's bodyguards have been sent back to the USA after the prostitution scandal.

The major part of the article deals with adventures of one poor nocturnal worker who manages to eclipse the USA President and the Columbia President, Juan Manuel Santoz.

In fact the newspaper report admits that the incident overshadowed Obama's efforts to focus on boosting trade with fast growing Latin America. This is election year and the Hispanic voters back home have to be wooed.

Prostitutes

All that significant matter is dealt with summarily and the reporter enthusiastically comes to the 'Vital part' where an under - paid prostitute who had rendered her services to the Secret Service agents of Obama, makes a fuss at the hotel counter demanding full payment.

The incident eclipses the political tempo of the summit and the feature is titled, "Barrack Obama's bodyguards sent back to US after prostitution scandal" .

Leave alone the issue of the media bloating the incident, here is a miserable picture of the women's role in the Summit of the Americas, again highlighted by the press.

According to the report, the leading broadcasting bodies on the threshold of the conference had carried a special feature about the thriving and well - organised prostitution racket in Cartagena.

What for? To provide propaganda? And not a single woman who takes part in the Summit talks is mentioned except for the wife of the Columbian President, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez.

But much space is devoted to all the prostitutes who are heading to Cartagena for the Summit.

The positive role is overshadowed by negative role. Is it a propensity of most media personnel for the sake of creating sensationalism by the erotic nature of the news?

The midnight workers disgrace themselves more by allowing themselves to be underpaid and then sleeping outside the hotel to catch their clients in the morning, who however are all evacuated en masse back to the USA - perhaps leaving the USA President minus any security. Better that way than being protected by sex crazy and dishonest bodyguards who overlook that labour has to be valued.

What is the morale of my tale? It is something not very pleasant and it is the bitter truth.

How much female education has gone beyond male education, however much heroic efforts are made to improve the image of the female, the sad plight of the exploited female remains.

What happened in the Buddha's India 2,500 years ago? It is a fitting story to relate in this holy period of the Buddhists falling between Vesak and Poson and the venue is much closer than a Mexican city. The Buddha was returning to Kapilavasthu, his first visit to his home town when he saw a woman full of sores lying on the road.

The Buddha recognised her as Subha once a beauty who reigned as the most sought after woman in the Sakya city catering to regal figures and was eventually thrown away when she fell ill.

The Buddha seeing her lying, full of sores and uncared for, out of compassion ministered to her, gave her food and drinks and soothed her by kind words. Naturally all this delayed the Buddha's visit to the city infuriating His relations who had gathered there to receive Him, already annoyed at Him for begging on the streets for food and tainting the Sakya clan.

When He frankly told them what caused the delay they just turned volcanic.

"You kept us waiting here for a dirty whore who is better dead than alive".

"How sad that you have all forgotten the merry days you had with her", said the Buddha.

Perhaps the rotting social structure of the Sakya kingdom was one factor that led Prince Siddhartha on to his Great Renunciation.

A media person at that time would have eclipsed the Buddha's first visit to Kapilavastu with Subha's story.Back to Columbia from Kapilavasthu, the USA SS officers no doubt remembered the merry nights they had with the Cartagena prostitutes in Hotel Carib who, however, were underpaid.

They had expected a haul of money to feed their fatherless children or children with many fathers, at the expense of the US Secret Service bodyguards who however had all been sent back home as punishment for the folly of a few.

But the newspapers which spiced the story probably sold well due to the salacious matter involved.

The poor exploited woman has become the play girl of media men too!