Jepara women make it big in oldest profession

Jepara women make it big in oldest profession

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The Central Java town of Jepara is well-known as the country's
top woodcarving producer. However, Jepara has gained another tag,
this time as the home of professional sex workers who offer their
services in cities like Batam in Riau, Jakarta, Surabaya and even
as far away as Singapore and Taiwan. The Jakarta Post's contributor
Singgir Kartana reports on the issue in the following articles.
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Sriati (not her real name), 27, was a poor village girl living
with her parents in a modest brick house in the remote village of
Banyumanis in Jepara regency, 100 kilometers east of Semarang.

Five years ago she decided to leave for Batam to try her luck.
And she made it. Upon returning home, she proudly renovated her
parents' dilapidated house, even adding a small garden.

Sriati's neighbor Restiana, not her real name, has a different
success story. After working in Singapore for the last two years
she is now living a comfortable life, turning her plaited bamboo-
made house into a two-story brick house and driving a jeep. Gone
are the days when she had to walk everywhere to find a job.

There are many other "Sriatis" and "Restianas" in the regency.
Reportedly, there are a number of districts -- like Keling,
Bangsri and Mlongo, that are famous as "sex clusters". In Keling
district alone, there are four "popular" villages -- Keling,
Blingok, Ujungwatu and Clering.

It seems that for these women, gaining instant beauty, wealth,
popularity and, most of all, a "socially respected status", are
their utmost dreams. Living in comfortable houses, driving cars
or motorcycles as well as wearing fashionable outfits with
accessories like branded items and cellular phones are possible
for them after working in big cities or even abroad.

"In Batam, I earn around Rp 1 million (around US$110) for my
services. We don't set a fixed time. All payment is based on our
service," Niah, 28, boasted while she was on "holiday" in Mlongo
district, her hometown.

"By working like this I can buy cell phones, branded jeans,
and even expensive perfume," Restiana said.

Possessing the necessary academic skills is not required. All
of these woman -- aged between 16 and 30 years, most of whom do
not pass junior high schools -- need is good look and curvy
bodies. Like it or not, these are the requirements set by
"agents" or pimps.

Unfortunately, instead of working in formal sectors as they
are usually promised, many of these women end up in brothels
across the country and even in Singapore or Taiwan.

Sriati from Banyumanis boasted she did not have to frequent
certain pubs while working.

"My name is quite famous in Batam. I only have to wait for a
call to get my booking order," Sriati said.

For the job, she earned between Rp 15 million and Rp 20
million per month, which she smartly invested in two-hectares of
rice fields, a fully furnished house, property and much more.

The "migrant workers" phenomenon started in the regency
somewhere around the early 1980s, and now it's flourishing with
increased access to transportation and means of communication.

Despite the increasing number of sex workers originating from
Jepara, there is no precise data about their numbers.

A Banyumanis villager, Kholik, estimated that in his village
alone, there were around 40 women who worked as sex workers.
Keling district itself, for instance, comprised 24 villages.

"So, you can count for yourself," he said.

Interestingly, in the eyes of their parents, husbands and the
community as well, these women's professions were socially
accepted and even supported since they were considered to have
contributed towards improving living conditions of their families
and the villages in general. Local people considered these
women's profession as their own, individual responsibilities.

"What can I do, it's hard to 'earn a living' here, so I have
to allow my wife (to work as sex worker)," said Ahmad, not his
real name, whose 23-year-old wife has been working in Jakarta and
then Batam for three years. Despite his so-called declaration of
"hardship", his family now lives in a good house and owns two
motorcycles.

Many of these sex workers, upon their return home, have
generously donated their money for a number of charities,
including to construct or renovate mosques or build other social
facilities. Some of them even proudly financed their parents haj
pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Becoming a haj will usually
raise a man's or woman's social status within the community.
Moreover, these women were also actively involved in various
religious gatherings, like reciting the Koran, when they are at
home.

Jepara is one of the most prominent Islamic clusters in
Central Java, home to a number of followers and leaders of the
respected Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim
organization.

According to a lecturer at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University
School of Psychology, Koentjoro, who has conducted a series of
comprehensive studies on the issue since 1987, the number of sex
workers in Jepara could reach thousands, excluding those working
in the regency and Semarang.

The expert, who has also provided advocacy and counseling to
numerous prostitutes in Pati and Jepara, said prostitution in
this area was deeply rooted, with a long history and tradition
which he believed dated as far back as 1870.

"Prostitution has long been intertwined in their own social
and cultural nerves."

Koentjoro said Jepara's strong Islamic background could not
necessarily eliminate the prostitution.

He had found that ulemas (Muslim clerics) rarely propagated
religious teachings relevant to the people's day-to-day lives.

"They should be more down-to-earth and realistic. Many ulemas
clearly separated their teachings in two sections, hablunminallah
(vertical relation between humans and God) and hablun minannas
(inter human-relationship)," he said.

He cited a number of factors, like the ongoing economic crisis
and urbanization as well as consumerism, which might push those
women into the "promising" sex industry. But he complained,
however, of people's tendency to associate prostitution with
poverty.

"In Jepara, poverty was only a small trigger. The most
compelling factor was the thirst for easy, instant wealth...,"
Koentjoro said.

He said the regency's social condition had also contributed to
the booming of prostitution in the area.

Jepara, he said, is a renowned woodcarving producer, turning
some local people into successful business people, thus changing
their lifestyle into fashionable, modern ones.

On the other hand, less privileged people viewed these changes
with envy. With no money, education or work, it was impossible
for them to make changes, pushing them to do anything, even
prostitution.

"Actually, there are many job opportunities in furniture and
woodcarving companies," a local official, who did not want to be
named, said.

Female workers at a furniture company, for instance, could
bring home about Rp 20,000 a day. "But many women were not
interested in working at such places ... they prefer to move to
big cities."

Local myth and legend seems to further legitimize
prostitution.

A local legend goes that Tulakan village in Keling district is
home to a sacred place, where Ratu (Queen) Kalinyamat, a noble
from the Islamic Demak kingdom, frequently used for seclusion and
meditation, naked.

Local people believe the place possesses spiritual power. On
certain Thursday nights (Wage Friday according to Javanese
calendar), people flock to Sendang Sonder spring in the village
to have sexual intercourse in their attempt to absorb Ratu
Kalinyamat's spiritual guidance. There, the visitors usually have
sex with strangers she or he meets at the site. By going through
this ritual, people believed they will find husbands or wives.
Many also believe this ritual enhances their businesses.

The regency's notoriety as "producer of prostitutes" has
definitely made many of the regency's officials uneasy. Efforts
have been done to curb prostitutions and illegal sex-related
activities. NU's youth organization even burned houses where
local prostitutes ran their businesses. But eliminating
prostitution is a gigantic task, an almost impossible job without
comprehensive programs as well as social and cultural
understandings.