Trading sex on Zamzama

Liberal sensibilities are rudely disturbed when areas like Zamzama are flooded by the 'taboo trade'.

As a regular commuter in this cauldron of mixed sights known as the metropolis of Karachi, I see diversity amidst the cacophony of ethnicity, race, language and cultural values and I also see the growing perpetual prostitution lining the streets of Zamzama – which has perhaps truly evolved as a one-stop shopping district.

They say it’s the oldest profession in the world, but come what may in Karachi it seems to be the newest one. Somehow every street has become a rendezvous for a potential client and provider.

Women continue to sell their bodies to earn a livelihood; admittedly this has existed in the city since its inception.

But the recent pervasive rise of highly visible and seemingly unhindered business on the streets and back alleys of frequented shopping districts such as Zamzama gives rise to a new debate.

After all, maybe Lahore has done the right thing. If you are one of those fanciful clients you know the particular street to visit, saving citizens from witnessing the embracing act of a provider hunting a client or vice versa.

Interestingly enough, the dilemma is even greater for those of us who consider ourselves ‘liberals’, if not in action at least in thought. We profess personal freedoms, the right to exercise choice and live in an open society.

I assume liberals certainly aren’t ones to raise banners of ‘indecent promiscuity’ and suggest stoning as punishment. Nevertheless, even liberal sensibilities are rudely disturbed when family-frequented areas like Zamzama are flooded by women belonging to the most taboo profession in the country.

Perhaps through it all what surprises me the most is the silence of the moral brigades in our city for allowing this practice to continue.