Gauahar Khan: Prostitution exists, it needs to be dealt with

Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Begum Jaan’ did not turn out to be successful at box office. But it sure managed to raise important talks on subjects that we comfortably overlook otherwise. One such is prostitution.

In ‘Begum Jaan’, Vidya Balan plays a strict brothel owner who fiercely protects her women and advocates for a woman’s freedom to make her own choices. Gauahar Khan, who played a pivotal character in the film, was recently asked whether she feels prostitution should be legalised in India.

“Who am I to make that decision? I think, each to their own. It is very much here… So, to shut your eyes about it and say it doesn’t exist is not helping the situation. So, don’t legalise it but at least address it, at least know that it exists and kind of make it known for the society also,” she told a news agency.

“It is not like you don’t see prostitutes in cities like Mumbai or Delhi or anywhere else. They are there. The normal people know that they exist. So how about reaching out to that in a better way? “There should be a channel of how you can protect them and their rights. It is a choice, it is a catch 22 situation though. I am no one to endorse it, I am no one to say it is right, I am just saying that it exists. It just needs to be dealt with,” she added.

Legalisation of prostitution is an age-old debate which sees no development at all. Stories of unbearable plight that are regular in flesh trade, sometimes make it to the headlines. Does it serve the purpose though? We guess not.

‘Begum Jaan’ will hopefully raise concrete debates.

Ranjini Maitra

Journalist. Writer. Reader. Enthu cutlet. Mood-swing machine. Day dreamer. Sandwiched between ‘live life fully’ and ‘lose some weight’. Mantra of life: Love and love more.