Indian prostitute mum sparks storm with book China Daily Updated: Her long, wavy, black hair tied loosely in a knot, Jameela looks like any other Indian housewife. But this attractive, largely uneducated mother of two is a best-selling author and prostitute whose outspoken views of sex work as an ordinary career choice have stirred controversy in conservative India. Her "Autobiography of a Sex Worker," has angered both feminists, who say it glorifies sex work, and conservatives, who think prostitutes should keep quiet.
I wanted to talk about it to remove the stigma," Jameela said. Her hometown was Kerala State. Nobody understands our grief. Sex work paid more than she was earning as a factory worker.
Her first customer was a policeman. When she came out of the room the next morning, she was beaten up by police on orders of another policeman she had turned down. Ajitha, president of Anweshi, a Kerala women's group said. Women in prostitution have only the right to sell their bodies, they don't have the right to choose. Gopinath, an activist who works with sex workers, the book has sold more than 10, copies in less than six months in a market where 5, in a year is a best seller.
But in India, public displays of affection are frowned upon and talking about sex publicly is still taboo. One popular south Indian actress has been pelted with sandals, tomatoes and rotten eggs and hauled before a court for suggesting women might have sex before marriage and telling men not to expect their brides to be virgins anymore. Protests over her comments lasted more than a month.
Prostitution is outlawed, but India has more than 2 million sex workers living on the fringes of society. They have few rights and abuse by both customers and the police is common.
