Last week, there was news that the police had arrested several people who were operating a social media based escort service in Dhaka. Reportedly, a massive online based adult companionship providing network has been busted.
It’s believed that these drives are carried out alongside the clamping down of porn sites -- a concerted move to limit the ultimate social damage caused by multifaceted exploitation of women, especially under-aged girls.
Of course, all drives aimed at preventing the entry of young women into a sordid world are welcome though it must be kept in mind that in Bangladesh, a large number of women are working as discreet escorts out of their own volition.
Instead of being too quick to judge, it’s possibly rational to think as to why this phenomenon, a common feature in any capitalist society, has flourished in Bangladesh.
Metamorphosis in social credo
She calls herself Proma. When I interviewed her at a dimly lit lounge of a plush hotel, she was very candid about her life plan.
“I come from the village and study at a well-known private university. Working as an escort gives me the chance to earn for my tuition and also keep aside an amount to use when I get married.”
Proma sees nothing wrong in what she is doing. In her words, once she gets married, this part of life will be erased from her slate. No one knows about it and no one will ever find out, she observes assertively.
But what if one of her relatives/friends walk in and finds her in such dazzling clothes in an expensive hotel late at night?
Brushing aside that risk, Proma says “that possibility is absolutely zero because I come from a middle class family and hardly anyone from my social sphere will ever enter a five star establishment after 10 at night.
“First, life within the social background I represent is bound by too many conventions and, in that restricted social outlook, walking into a snazzy bar is tantamount to committing a grave sin,” she says and carries on, “even if a person from the middle class has a weakness for alcohol, they will go to their local bars.”
It seems her convention-driven social background is her trusted savior.
Like her, there are countless young women in the major cities who are working as escorts with the simple objective of accumulating a certain amount of money with which they plan to either enter a married life or start a legitimate business.
The sugar daddies and the clueless ‘boyfriend’
About a year ago, BBC did a news story highlighting the beguiling world of “sugar culture” in the UK and other parts of Europe, where young women were found to be getting into arrangements with socially established men to provide intimacy for a monthly payment, either to meet education expenses or for a steady, comfortable life.
When the recession in Europe almost crippled growth in 2009, triggering unemployment, there were reports that many young women, struggling to pay university fees, were taking up temporary escort work on the side to make an income.
There are countless young women in the major cities who are working as escorts with the simple objective of accumulating a certain amount of money with which they plan to either enter a married life or start a legitimate business
In the case of the many young women working as escorts in Dhaka and other cities, the primary objective is often to know someone generous through the network and then settle with one benefactor.
Interestingly, many of these girls also have steady boyfriends who are clueless about the carefully concealed side of the woman. “They don’t need to know; why complicate things?” is the most common reaction from the women.
What may trigger a social analysis is that a large number of escorts are actually related in some way to the celluloid or the public entertainment industry. When dreams of becoming a top actress or model shatters, some turn to escorting service to survive and earn a living.
Another pertinent point is that in the totally unreliable film industry, with movies mostly failing to break even, wannabe actresses regularly face an uncertain future. The other alternative is to work in a supermarket/fast-food chain like a slave for 10 to 12 hours a day six days a week and get paid a pittance, says Proma.
When a little adventure turns deadly
The most disconcerting revelation in recent years has been the entry of young women, apparently charming and confident, into a world of crime, addiction, and extortion. There are plenty of dark sides to the escort trade with the most macabre being the role of women acting as yaba carriers plus sellers.
While the law enforcers are currently grappling with the yaba scourge, the rapid spread of this methamphetamine based drug was initially through the glamour world, where young women were used to carry and peddle without raising suspicion.
An adult, deciding to work as an escort, has to take the responsibility of her action -- however, society has to worry when a personal decision is intertwined with acts that harm others in the long term.
Under the veneer of discreet companionship, drugs continue to spread -- one crime leads to another, resulting inexorably to the exploitation of unsuspecting young girls and other grisly deeds.
Recently, the body of an elderly businessman was found by the police in a large sack, reportedly, investigation has led to a young model plus DJ, who is believed to have dumped the body.
In a very mercenary social setting, where monetary gains trump all instincts, escorting often does not remain a pre-marriage secret to be wiped out with time, it often leads to murky waters involving far more than just a little extra sugar on the side.
Towheed Feroze is a journalist, teaching at the University of Dhaka.
