"Daughters of Darkness" (by Shehzad Noorani)

Both smiling, a commercial sex worker kisses another on the cheek, an uncommon public display of affection in Bangladesh. Kandupatti Brothel. Dhaka.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Both smiling, a commercial sex worker kisses another on the cheek, an uncommon public display of affection in Bangladesh. Kandupatti Brothel. Dhaka.
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Young girls stand on the street outside Marwari Mandir brothel in Jessore. Jessore is a major city near Indian border that has recognized network for trafficking women and children out of Bangladesh into brothels in India. Indian brothels are known to have extremely high HIV prevalence rate. Once infected and sick by AIDS, girls are replaced with new ones. Infected ones are send beck to their villages or rural communities in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal, where once again prostitution is taken up, if not as a primary occupation, as part time. This pattern spreads infections in such remote communities where getting treatment, even for minor infections or disease, let alone HIV/AIDS, is considered a dream.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Young girls stand on the street outside Marwari Mandir brothel in Jessore. Jessore is a major city near Indian border that has recognized network for trafficking women and children out of Bangladesh into brothels in India. Indian brothels are known to have extremely high HIV prevalence rate. Once infected and sick by AIDS, girls are replaced with new ones. Infected ones are send beck to their villages or rural communities in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal, where once again prostitution is taken up, if not as a primary occupation, as part time. This pattern spreads infections in such remote communities where getting treatment, even for minor infections or disease, let alone HIV/AIDS, is considered a dream.
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Standing under an old decaying building, young girls wait for customers in Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Standing under an old decaying building, young girls wait for customers in Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
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â€œNo matter how hard you try, you wonâ€™t even come close to understanding our grief,â€* says Najma, a 14-year-old girl. She fled Dhakaâ€™s red-light district Kandupatti with her boy friend, only to return disillusioned to her old ways after he stole her saving and tried to sale her to another brothel in Jessore, a town bordering India. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

â€œNo matter how hard you try, you wonâ€™t even come close to understanding our grief,â€* says Najma, a 14-year-old girl. She fled Dhakaâ€™s red-light district Kandupatti with her boy friend, only to return disillusioned to her old ways after he stole her saving and tried to sale her to another brothel in Jessore, a town bordering India. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh
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A young girl stands outside her quarter amongst passing by clients in Kandhapara Brothel. Tangail. (July 2002)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A young girl stands outside her quarter amongst passing by clients in Kandhapara Brothel. Tangail. (July 2002)
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PROS-AZ-14 Her arms locked around his waist, while two other girls look on, a young girl tries to entice a prospective client, at the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka. At 20-50 Taka charged per customer, and a minimum of 600 Taka needed for daily upkeep, the competition for customers is intense. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

PROS-AZ-14 Her arms locked around his waist, while two other girls look on, a young girl tries to entice a prospective client, at the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka. At 20-50 Taka charged per customer, and a minimum of 600 Taka needed for daily upkeep, the competition for customers is intense. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh
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One day Sabira, the girl sitting at the back, stopped coming to school. She had turned twelve, and was being married. It was a big ceremony attended by special guests. Oddly, the person she married was her grandmother. The following day in yet another ceremony, her grandmother divorced her. Now that she was divorced, she was to be considered spoiled as well. A man paid 10,000 Taka to spend first few nights with her. Sabira has turned fourteen now. She looks older, probably because of the steroids she was given to make her body develop faster. She also has a six-month-old child, and anyone can sleep with her for as little as 20 Taka (about 30 US cents). Kandhapara Brothel, Tangail, Bangladesh. December 2001. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

One day Sabira, the girl sitting at the back, stopped coming to school. She had turned twelve, and was being married. It was a big ceremony attended by special guests. Oddly, the person she married was her grandmother. The following day in yet another ceremony, her grandmother divorced her. Now that she was divorced, she was to be considered spoiled as well. A man paid 10,000 Taka to spend first few nights with her. Sabira has turned fourteen now. She looks older, probably because of the steroids she was given to make her body develop faster. She also has a six-month-old child, and anyone can sleep with her for as little as 20 Taka (about 30 US cents). Kandhapara Brothel, Tangail, Bangladesh. December 2001. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)
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A minor girl child, daughter of a prostitute, amongst the clients in the back ground and a passer by prostitute in the foreground. Growing up in a brothel environment doesn't leave children here with much options and usually turns them into young prostitutes. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A minor girl child, daughter of a prostitute, amongst the clients in the back ground and a passer by prostitute in the foreground. Growing up in a brothel environment doesn't leave children here with much options and usually turns them into young prostitutes. Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka. Bangladesh
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Pinkie is being initiated in the business of prostitution for the first time. The woman on the right is her mother and one on the left with disgusted look on her face is a sex worker that I have know since over 6 years. She is now pregnant but has gone through the whole dilemma herself and understands what lies ahead for this young girl. Daulatdia Brothel on the bank of Padma river. Bangladesh. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Pinkie is being initiated in the business of prostitution for the first time. The woman on the right is her mother and one on the left with disgusted look on her face is a sex worker that I have know since over 6 years. She is now pregnant but has gone through the whole dilemma herself and understands what lies ahead for this young girl. Daulatdia Brothel on the bank of Padma river. Bangladesh. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)
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Maya climbs stairs of Kamatipura Brothel in Bombay where her mother works as a commercial sex worker. Like most other children in brothel, she does not go to school and plays inside the brothel with friends. Unlike in normal Indian or South Asian society, the birth of a girl in brothel is seen as a sign of blessing and good fate, as it guarantees future income. Girls, as young as 13 years old, are forced into prostitution, either by her own parents, or they are simply sold to others.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Maya climbs stairs of Kamatipura Brothel in Bombay where her mother works as a commercial sex worker. Like most other children in brothel, she does not go to school and plays inside the brothel with friends. Unlike in normal Indian or South Asian society, the birth of a girl in brothel is seen as a sign of blessing and good fate, as it guarantees future income. Girls, as young as 13 years old, are forced into prostitution, either by her own parents, or they are simply sold to others.
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Maya sitting next to her young sister and old woman who has been hired by her mother to looks after them. Mayaâ€™s mother works as a sex workers and like many other women at the brothel believes that her children will have the same fate. Unbelievable as it may sounds, large number f children are born in the brothels of India and are brought up with a sole purpose of prostitution. Poverty may very well be the roots cause, soliciting innocent children at such young ages is highly questionable and should remain unacceptable.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Maya sitting next to her young sister and old woman who has been hired by her mother to looks after them. Mayaâ€™s mother works as a sex workers and like many other women at the brothel believes that her children will have the same fate. Unbelievable as it may sounds, large number f children are born in the brothels of India and are brought up with a sole purpose of prostitution. Poverty may very well be the roots cause, soliciting innocent children at such young ages is highly questionable and should remain unacceptable.
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After a group health meeting with a local NGO WARD, Champa (black saree) stands outside with her daughter adopted Beauty in Hijra Bari in Jessore city. These cluster meetings provide opportunities to discuss social problems of Hijra community as well as aspects related to their sexual life, including sexually transmittable diseases (STDs) like HIV/AIDS, etc. Hijra, meaning transvestites, are subjected to extreme prejudices in Bengali society. Most earn their living by entertaining people with their songs and dances and also provide sexual services. They are extremely vulnerable to sexually transmittable diseases including HIV/AIDS. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

After a group health meeting with a local NGO WARD, Champa (black saree) stands outside with her daughter adopted Beauty in Hijra Bari in Jessore city. These cluster meetings provide opportunities to discuss social problems of Hijra community as well as aspects related to their sexual life, including sexually transmittable diseases (STDs) like HIV/AIDS, etc. Hijra, meaning transvestites, are subjected to extreme prejudices in Bengali society. Most earn their living by entertaining people with their songs and dances and also provide sexual services. They are extremely vulnerable to sexually transmittable diseases including HIV/AIDS. (Note: Names of people have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)
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Using a toothpick, a sardarni (madam) cleans teeth of her one of many girls that she uses for prostitution. Often sardarnis start their life in brothels as sex workers themselves, but as they grow old and find it difficult to attract clients, they start employing other younger children for the work instead. It is in their advantage to keep children they use for prostitution clean so more clients get attracted. Depending on their age, seniority, financial and political status, Sardarnis keep as many as ten children. These children are paid little more than food, clothing and basic shared shelter. Any additional income depends on tips from clients. Kandhapara Brothel. Tangail. (July 2002)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Using a toothpick, a sardarni (madam) cleans teeth of her one of many girls that she uses for prostitution. Often sardarnis start their life in brothels as sex workers themselves, but as they grow old and find it difficult to attract clients, they start employing other younger children for the work instead. It is in their advantage to keep children they use for prostitution clean so more clients get attracted. Depending on their age, seniority, financial and political status, Sardarnis keep as many as ten children. These children are paid little more than food, clothing and basic shared shelter. Any additional income depends on tips from clients. Kandhapara Brothel. Tangail. (July 2002)
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A client kisses a reluctant girl in Kandupatti brothel. Dhaka. Bangladesh

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A client kisses a reluctant girl in Kandupatti brothel. Dhaka. Bangladesh
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Women attempt to drag a reluctant man into their ramshackle hut in Dhakaâ€™s Kandupatti brothel. What may seem like a violent scene, is often carefully planned and staged to scare a client who may have walked into a brothel first time. Later they gather, joke about it laughing out loudly and share what they manage to snatch from new men. At a paltry 20-50 Taka per client, it takes 20 or so customer a day for women at the Kandupatti to make ends meet, and competition for client is fierce Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Women attempt to drag a reluctant man into their ramshackle hut in Dhakaâ€™s Kandupatti brothel. What may seem like a violent scene, is often carefully planned and staged to scare a client who may have walked into a brothel first time. Later they gather, joke about it laughing out loudly and share what they manage to snatch from new men. At a paltry 20-50 Taka per client, it takes 20 or so customer a day for women at the Kandupatti to make ends meet, and competition for client is fierce Kandupatti brothel, Dhaka.
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An old man, leaning on the wall with a raised arm, pursues a young girl who shies away from him, in the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

An old man, leaning on the wall with a raised arm, pursues a young girl who shies away from him, in the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka.
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A girl drags smoke from a cigarette, while other shouts at her. Emotions runs high amongst the women in Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A girl drags smoke from a cigarette, while other shouts at her. Emotions runs high amongst the women in Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
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Blood streaking down her face, a sex worker stands in the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, after being beaten by a client during a payment dispute.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Blood streaking down her face, a sex worker stands in the Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka, after being beaten by a client during a payment dispute.
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A girl laughs holding a condom filled with water. Using safety pins, she quietly attaches these condoms behind men's back and let them walk with condoms hanging on their back through the brothel. Daulatdia Brothel. Bangladesh.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A girl laughs holding a condom filled with water. Using safety pins, she quietly attaches these condoms behind men's back and let them walk with condoms hanging on their back through the brothel. Daulatdia Brothel. Bangladesh.
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PROS-BK-8A On an Eid day in decorated with balloons to celebrate, Shilpi, a 20-year-old woman, lies in the arms of her client-boy friend Sarwar in the Saeedpur brothel. Sarwar wants her to leave the brothel and marry him, but she is reluctant to do so without financial guarantees. Saeedpur. A northern town in Bangladesh

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

PROS-BK-8A On an Eid day in decorated with balloons to celebrate, Shilpi, a 20-year-old woman, lies in the arms of her client-boy friend Sarwar in the Saeedpur brothel. Sarwar wants her to leave the brothel and marry him, but she is reluctant to do so without financial guarantees. Saeedpur. A northern town in Bangladesh
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A woman sex worker smokes marijuana from a customer's pipe, in an alley of a brothel, in the western city of Jessore. To please their clients, sex workers often drink and take drugs, risking becoming addicted to these substances.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A woman sex worker smokes marijuana from a customer's pipe, in an alley of a brothel, in the western city of Jessore. To please their clients, sex workers often drink and take drugs, risking becoming addicted to these substances.
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Standing outside her quarter, a commercial sex worker look for lice in another girlâ€™s hair, on a busy street in Sonargachi brothel in Kolkatta. This brothel houses hundreds of sex workers from all over India as well as from poorer neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Standing outside her quarter, a commercial sex worker look for lice in another girlâ€™s hair, on a busy street in Sonargachi brothel in Kolkatta. This brothel houses hundreds of sex workers from all over India as well as from poorer neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh.
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A group of Nepalese young girls wait for clients at the entrance of Sonargachi brothel in western city of Calcutta. These girls are being trafficked into India with promises of jobs in big cities. The business of trafficking of girls is well established - some rural communities have been selling their children into prostitution for generations. Some Indian brothels have an infection rate of HIV as high as 75%. After getting infected and sick by working in these brothels, these girls are usually replaced with fresh ones. Infected ones are send beck to their villages or rural communities, where once again prostitution is taken up, if not as a primary occupation, as part time. This pattern spreads infections in such remote communities where getting treatment, even for minor infections or disease, let alone HIV/AIDS, is considered a dream.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

A group of Nepalese young girls wait for clients at the entrance of Sonargachi brothel in western city of Calcutta. These girls are being trafficked into India with promises of jobs in big cities. The business of trafficking of girls is well established - some rural communities have been selling their children into prostitution for generations. Some Indian brothels have an infection rate of HIV as high as 75%. After getting infected and sick by working in these brothels, these girls are usually replaced with fresh ones. Infected ones are send beck to their villages or rural communities, where once again prostitution is taken up, if not as a primary occupation, as part time. This pattern spreads infections in such remote communities where getting treatment, even for minor infections or disease, let alone HIV/AIDS, is considered a dream.
view full-size image

Taking shelter from the rain under an awning, a young girl enjoying a rare moment of intimacy with one of her regular client on the roof of Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Taking shelter from the rain under an awning, a young girl enjoying a rare moment of intimacy with one of her regular client on the roof of Kandupatti brothel in Dhaka.
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Kammu is from a village; about two hours walk from Pokhra, popular tourist resort in Nepal. She never liked going to school and often used to skip and go to play in fields. A â€˜friendâ€™ told her about possibilities of getting job in Katmandu and brought her to Sonargachi instead, about three years ago. â€œGod know how much she sold me for. They locked me up and forced me to have sex with men. Now it doesnâ€™t matter regardless of how many times I may have to do it. As long as I can earn enough to pay for food, clothes and rent. I donâ€™t want to go away from here. Where can I go? Itâ€™s all about money. Love? Yes. People pay and make love. Donâ€™t you see? There is so much love here. If you have money, you can buy as much as you want.â€* (Names of people and place have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:58:35 +0000

Kammu is from a village; about two hours walk from Pokhra, popular tourist resort in Nepal. She never liked going to school and often used to skip and go to play in fields. A â€˜friendâ€™ told her about possibilities of getting job in Katmandu and brought her to Sonargachi instead, about three years ago. â€œGod know how much she sold me for. They locked me up and forced me to have sex with men. Now it doesnâ€™t matter regardless of how many times I may have to do it. As long as I can earn enough to pay for food, clothes and rent. I donâ€™t want to go away from here. Where can I go? Itâ€™s all about money. Love? Yes. People pay and make love. Donâ€™t you see? There is so much love here. If you have money, you can buy as much as you want.â€* (Names of people and place have been altered or not revealed to protect identity)
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