Author: Durgesh Yadav, Student at B R Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat
ABSTRACT
“I raise my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard…We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” It is an infamous saying by a feminist trailblazer, Malala Yousafzai who tried to embrace the power of womanhood.
The path to gender equality still remains long, complex, and unclear for women in our society. They are neglected and restricted and treated as inferior to men only based on their gender despite the laws formed in favor of women. And the condition was worse when we talked about the rights of sex workers. Although both men and women are engaged in the profession of prostitution, still women have faced more discrimination than men in present society. Why is that so? Maybe because of the stereotypical thinking of a patriarchal society where a woman is the property of a man, who has the responsibility to protect her. Is she only a sex object? Does she have rights to her body?.
Indian constitution protects all the marginalized groups of the society based on caste, color, race, or religion. But, what about sex workers? Their condition is more pitiful than other marginalized groups because of societal taboos against them. Sex work was not treated as work in ancient India which was changed by our Indian judiciary in its judgment that considered sex work as job like other professions in India and citizens have the right to practice it. But, social stigma is still present among Indians resulting in the refutation of basic human rights for sex workers and their families. They recognized sex work as an immoral and dirty lifestyle which is a threat to the sacred and religious Indian society.
The question of human rights for sex workers stands still among lawmakers. Should we legalize this profession? What do we do for the protection of sex workers? Debates on this issue were there for the long haul and will continue for a long time.
So, here in this research paper, I am going to explore the legal framework for prostitution with the laws for the protection of sex workers. How has prostitution evolved with time? What is the recent development in the laws for sex workers?
Keywords: Prostitution, Rights of Sex Workers, Legal Framework.
