> From: Ritu [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Andrew Paul wrote: > > > LOL, yes, you are well known for your callousness, you are > > clearly blessed with a heart of stone! > > *g* > > You do say the nicest things to a girl. :) >
Always glad to oblige :) > > I get the feeling we are all being armchair experts here. It > > would be best if we listened to one who had some experience > > in such matters. I have no doubt there are women (and perhaps > > men) who are pushed into prostitution, either by force, or by > > economic necessity. Equally, there are some who choose it, of > > their own free will. Perhaps if we all chipped in $5, we > > could book an hour or two for discussions with someone who knew :) > > Agreed. :) > If I were a bit more ambulatory, I'd have prefered going over and > talking to these people myself. As it is, I have been unable to talk > either my brother or husband into going over to get some answers for me. > I think you might find them reluctant to undertake such ventures, for fear of their motives being misunderstood. > > No, I don't think > > they will all burn in hell for all eternity, and I think it > > would be a) stupid, b) pointless, c) in an odd and no doubt > > misguided way, a denial of a women's right to choose if we > > were to attempt to eradicate it. > > I don't think anyone burns in hell for all eternity. And the only > disagreement I have with the rest of what you say is that I think you > are narrowing the field a bit when you say 'a woman's right to choose'. > Men's rights are also being affected, dammit! :) > True enough, I was going to go back and add men, but I thought I'd leave it as and see if anyone objected. > But I don't see how anyone can ever eradicate prostitution. So the most > sensible course of action seems to be legalising the trade. Things > would/could be monitored, and at least the prostitutes would have a > legal status and all the protection that affords. > > To go off on a tangent here, the comment you made at the end of your > first mail in this thread made me want to recommend Guru Dutt's _Pyasa_ > to you. I think you'd enjoy the movie. Another movie that I found myself > thinking of was Vijay Anand's _Guide_, the story of a woman whose mother > forces her into a marriage to enable her to escape the dev-dasi system. > Ironically enough, the girl would probably have been happier within that > system, and indeed breaks free of her marriage soon thereafter. The > ending is a bit unconvincing but the movie is definitely worth a watch. > Sadly the Indian video store on the corner of our street has closed down, there is another round the corner. I will investigate next time I am topping up on papadams and their home ground curry powder. I confess, the dev-dasi system does sound intriguing, and a rather Indian response to the problem. Andrew _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
