Dear Editor
As the nation continues on debating whether prostitution should be legalized or not, I would like to state that legalizing it will create serious problems for our country.
It is very essential to consider the repercussions women will go through as a result of legalising this practice.
My strong opinion is that prostitution despises women.
It makes them lose prestige.
It depicts them as sex objects that can be bought with money.
The total health of such people should be taken into consideration.
It has been observed that women who trade with their bodies usually suffer from some sexually transmitted diseases and infections like itches and genital warts. Such people also suffer from common colds, headaches and backaches because of fatigue.
It is true that some women are lured into this practice because of poverty and unemployment.
This may be an indication that women are marginalized and need empowerment.
This is not a justification to subject them to a trade that is not different from abuse.
Women need to be given relevant education that will help alleviate their poverty and give them skills for self-employment.
Since most of the women who normally turn to prostitution come from families of low income earners, it sounds more like an insult if we create an environment conducive to motivate them to resort to prostitution.
Some high profile citizens of our lovely country supporting the building of brothels will not dream to see their daughters trading there.
Observations made in some countries indicate that there are those who join the practice not necessarily due to financial constraints but for self-pleasure and gain. Therefore, any body’s child can end up there regardless of their class in society.
Legalizing prostitution will lead to a mushrooming of illegal brothels all over this country.
Lawlessness and crime will soar.
There will be practical cases of women and girl-child trafficking in and outside the country.
Abductions, rape, exploitation, child prostitution and killings will become real. Young girls will most probably quit school and head to make quick cash at the illegal dens that will be operating underground.
Botswana may then lose the war on the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This kind of trade will open gates for human traffickers from other countries.
Thailand has had a problem of sex traders flooding in there from countries where prostitution is not allowed, to operate on illegal brothels. Corruption will take its toll as some of our law enforcers will be bribed to protect the brothel masters running unlicensed businesses.
This will tarnish the image of our country, as we will immediately be known as a country providing commercial sex in the region. Our dear sisters may also have a bad reputation, just as happened to Thai women. We have had some of our true daughters marketing our country world wide in the likes of Mpule, Kaone, and Standwa, just to mention a few. Why will we like to embarrass these true daughters of the soil by creating a bad name for ourselves?
This kind of practice will definitely taint our good name in the global village.
We cannot substitute unemployment with prostitution. Women empowerment is the solution. The elites who support this trade must explain to the nation whether they are telling the unemployed women to resort to prostitution.
We need to stand and preserve the morals of our nation.
Legalizing prostitution will seriously work against achieving pillars of Vision 2016.
B. Majafe
Box 36,
Kopong
