Lifecycle of a Prostitute ------------------------- by Ramsagar Verma Reporting from village Natpurwa Prostitution is an age-old practice. A society which has traditionally practised the occupation in general condones it, and in fact encourages it in the hope of having a source of income without investment. It is mostly girls aged 13-15 years who are pushed into prostitution. At this age, they are not mature enough to make a choice for themselves and usually cannot resist parental/societal pressure. A young girl entering this occupation is usually in great demand and faces a near future of secure earnings. Thus starts a vicious cycle; the girl is enticed by the amount of earnings available to her, and actively starts participating in the profession. Usually all her income is entrusted to her parents and her role as an earning member of the family earns her greater respect from her family members. A young girl faced with this situation usually fails to take into account how society views her, and secure in the money and her family she becomes an active part of the flesh trade. A few years later the young prostitute starts bearing children, but due to the nature of the conception, she fails to bestow maternal love upon them. The children usually end up being reared in a different household, separated from their mother and therefore deprived of her love and affection. Meanwhile the parents and siblings of the prostitute fritter away the earnings of their daughter/sister, mostly in casual indulgences. The children grow up without parental supervision and end up adopting various ill habits - chewing pan masala, gambling etc. Any adult they may encounter is treated as a father, from whom some money can be obtained to indulge in these habits. The prostitute meanwhile is busily engaged in her profession and has no time to spare for her children. Any spare time is spent in seeking out new regular customers. Slowly her earnings fade away with her youth, by which time her children have grown up into illiterate drunkards and gamblers. Having had all her earnings usurped and wasted by her family members, the prostitute herself turns to drinking heavily. She is insulted by her sons, who often abuse and beat her. Thus ends the lifestory of the prostitute. With no recourse at hand, she then pushes her own daughters into the trade - thereby completing the circle of life.