2007-04-09 Worth the read

This book gives an incredible insight into the lives of the prostitutes that inhabit the red light district of Lahore. The author, an anthropologist from Birmingham University regularly visited the district over a period of five years and we follow the trials and tribulations on the characters she meets.

Ironically, Heera Mendi is one of the few places in Pakistan where people prefer girl babies, for the fact that they will bring in an income. Maha, the women the author befriends is fortunate in this respect as she has four daughters and the second eldest is somewhat of a beauty. We witness her daughters entering the trade and the virginity being sold off to the highest buyer. Startling however is that despite the obvious intelligence of many of the girls involved there seem few that have the belief that it's possible to break the vicious cycle of the daughter of a prostitute becoming a prostitute herself. A large part of the blame can have be placed on the society they inhabit.

Louise Brown writes without judgment, though even at times she is unable to maintain her professional distance and (very understandably) intervenes. Aside from the tales of the prostitutes there are also insightful passages where she talks about the hijab and describes the religious rituals of the area. The book is incredibly easy too read (though admittedly the short chapters were a little annoying) and its main fault is that often we are left wanting more information. However it still is worth 5 stars in my opinion and a must read for anybody interested in the fate of `working' women or society in Pakistan.