Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. Sex for Bread in New Afghanistan. She has since turned to selling her body to make a living.
After returning from Iran, Fatima knocked every door in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in quest for a job, but in vain. Desperate to sustain her mother, two sisters and young brother, she eventually found no other option but prostitution. Fatima now roams the streets every day, her face heavily painted with all sorts of make-up, in search for clients. In the northern regions, more and more young women are turning to sex work.
Prostitution is even taking formal root, with brothels operating and pimps managing prostitutes openly in some cities. Though "fornication" is a charge that carries a penalty of from 5 to 15 years in jail, bribes usually take care of unwanted police attention to the trade.
Inherited Nasrin, a year-old who lives in the northern city of Qhunduz, says prostitution was the legacy she bequeathed from her mother. One day she encouraged me to have sex with a man who came to our house. The country is so destitute and undeveloped that most inhabitants have no central heating, electricity or running water.
According to the international policy think tank Senlis, more than 70 percent of Afghans are chronically malnourished, with less than a quarter having access to safe drinking water. All Rights Reserved.
