| Submit your comments on this article | |
| India-Pakistan | |
| Music ban turns NWFP singers, dancers to prostitution | |
| 2003-02-17 | |
| For many singers and dancers in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), an Islamist-led crackdown on musical performance has meant a humiliating return to prostitution. âThe ban has forced me to become a prostitute again after 12 years,â lamented Mahjabeen, an accomplished singer of Pashtu-language âghazalsâ (classical ballads) in Peshawar, 40 kilometres from the Afghan border. âIt has frightened my audience away. They are too scared to organise musical evenings. My sole source of income was singing, so now I have no option but to revert to prostitution to support my family.â Since the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) swept NWFP in October polls and won control of the provincial parliament, police have been waging an anti-obscenity drive in accordance with the recommendations of the MMAâs Sharia (Islamic law) Council. But because no formal bans have been issued by the MMA, police have taken matters into their own hands. Since December they have arrested video store owners, locked up singers caught performing in public, arrested musicians for âloiteringâ and ordered others to conceal their instruments. They have torched posters of film stars, torn cassettes out of public buses and forced drivers to halt their vehicles for the five daily prayers. Hotels are forbidden to hold concerts, soirees and fashion shows. While some singers have uprooted and headed to more liberal cities like Lahore the market for Mahjabeenâs Pashtu ghazals only exists here. Her crystal voice gave her a way out of prostitution at the age of 17, the trade her mother had introduced her to four years earlier. âIn a very short time I became a polished vocalist and was able to make a reasonable living through public performances.â Without the unwritten ban on music Mahjabeen estimates she could support herself for another 30 years by performing at weddings and concerts. But now she faces the grim prospect of whoring her own daughters.âOnce I turn 35 I will have to become a pimp and groom my two daughters to become good whores,â she said. Dancer Palwashay has met a similar fate. âI was part of a troupe of musicians and dancers who used to perform at weddings, birthday parties and other soirees. But this ban has snatched bread from my bandâs mouth because now our clients fear a severe backlash from religious bigots if they celebrate anything with music or dance.â Penniless, she and four colleagues from the troupe opened a brothel in a house rented from a fervent supporter of the clerics. âHe prays five times a day and fasts. But he exploits us and benefits from our âservicesâ by paying very little,â Palwashay said. She accused the clerics of banning music and dance to encourage prostitution in NWFP. âThis way they save themselves the hassle of travelling to cities like Lahore and Karachi, where there are three brothels on every street.â Music and dance are an integral part of Pakistanâs rich cultural heritage. These singers and dancers, popular among the masses, lived off the nominal fees they charged for performing at parties, making no more than 200 dollars a month. Singer Jameela, a 22-year-old widow supporting a son, has had no bookings since November. Her landlord waived her rent on condition she became his mistress. âSometimes I have to entertain his friends. I have no choice but to accept this private humiliation.â Jameela is bitter at the ban and accuses the Islamists of fuelling prostitution. âThe clerics are promoting a cottage industry of sex. They think that by imposing this ban theyâre able to make people better Muslims. They donât realise how they have vulgarised the society.â
| |
| Posted by:Paul |
| #2 The Religion of Piece (TM)---Fred was right: These guys are not wired up to code. They have been spouting this hypocritical garbage so long that they genuinely believe their own sh-t! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-02-17 20:42:18 |
| #1 (sarcasm on) How can there be prostitution when the locals are so holy to the Quran? (sarcasm off) f*&kin' hypocritical a-holes |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-02-17 20:31:51 |