Jepara women make it big in oldest profession
-------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------
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.