Pre-Colonial India
The definition of Prostitute has never been explicitly defined, however, it is commonly used for any woman who for the sake of monetary considerations sells her body is referred to as one. In ancient India, they were referred to as ‘Ganikas’ or courtesans. During the Mauryan period, a systematic control of the prostitution business was established under a superintendant, who was called the ‘Ganikaadyaksha’. There were different types of prostitutes and they were differently paid. The Ganikas were the accomplished and most good-looking women who served the king’s court who were paid a fixed salary by the state. The second category included courtesans who substituted for the official courtesan during …show more content…
These women were to associate with British soldiers only. They were registered by the Cantonment Magistrate and were given tickets of license. They were sent to the prison hospitals (Lock Hospitals) against their will and were tested to trace any diseases that were likely to spread to the soldiers. Brothel keeping was looked upon as a source of govt. revenue. Brothel Keepers (Bandhakiposaka) had to pay a part of their earnings as revenue. The function of prostitutes was not only entertainment, but their services were also used for political purposes, especially in espionage work.
There were different types of Prostitutes. The different groups had different income levels. The religious prostitutes performed ritual duties, hence, worked without charging money. The streetwalkers earned Rs.5 to Rs.500 per client. The cage brothel prostitutes earned Rs.50 to Rs.100 per day. The brothel prostitutes earned Rs10 to Rs50 per client. Barmaids earned Rs.2000 to Rs.3500 per …show more content…
It is hard to know what number of sex laborers there are in India, yet it is assessed that 1% of grown-up ladies in India could be occupied with sex work (Dandona et al. 2006)
They are typically authoritatively committed, in a type of reinforced work, to work in a house of ill-repute under the responsibility for madam or pimp. In any case, a developing number of more up to date sex specialists are entering sex work willfully (Kotiswaran, 2008)
Quite a bit of what we think about sex work in India originates from investigations of Sonagachi, Kolkata's most seasoned and best settled red light district, with more than 4,000 sex laborers working in 370 houses of ill-repute that administration around 20,000 customers every