Prostitution a means to a better future for some women

JAKARTA (JP): As the saying goes, prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. It has always been around, and probably always will be.

There are no special requirements needed to become a prostitute, nor does the job require any particular skill, except maybe a certain politeness and ease with strangers. Because anyone can do it, many young women, most facing dire economic hardships, have turned to prostitution to earn a living.

Mira (not her real name), a prostitute at the Empu Gandring 63 brothel in the Kramat Tunggak red-light district, said she was forced to become a prostitute because she had no place to live and could not support herself.

"After my divorce earlier this year, I lived with my sister and her husband back in my hometown. Unfortunately, her business went bankrupt last September, so I had to find a way to support myself since I didn't want to bother her and her family anymore," said Mira, who comes from Subang, West Java.

The 17-year-old woman, whose parents are dead, said her dream was to buy some land and build a home.

Ani, 30, said she would have to reregister to work at Kramat Tunggak because her husband abandoned her three months ago.

"I have to pay for my two sons, who are living in my hometown," said Ani, who lives in a boardinghouse near the red- light district.

Ani works every day along Jl. Kramat Jaya, the street which runs in front of the prostitution complex. Usually, she takes customers to nearby motels.

Ani, who hails from Bumiayu, Central Java, worked as a prostitute in Kramat Tunggak in 1992. However, she left after three months when one of her customers asked her to marry him.

Prostitution is a profession which not only enables women, and men, to survive difficult times, but it can also provide them luxuries they could not have afforded doing other work.

"I can save at least Rp 1.5 million each month," said Maya (not her real name), a prostitute at Nusa Bunga 98 brothel.

She said she had an average of three customers a day, earning about Rp 50,000 from each customer.

Maya also sends Rp 200,000 to her mother in Karawang, West Java, every month.

She learned of Kramat Tunggak from friends who had worked there as prostitutes, and decided to register with a pimp who operated in the district.

There are no great obstacles for women who wish to register with pimps. The pimps process all of the women's documents, including their ID cards, paying officials to ensure there are no snags in the process.

Many prostitutes take this course, which defeats the original aim of Kramat Tunggak: to take prostitutes off the streets by gathering them in the brothels.

Maya said she paid brothel owners a Rp 10,000 room fee each time she had a customer. She must also pay Rp 5,000 for electricity and Rp 40,000 each month for laundry.

"The brothel owners don't provide meals so I have to pay for my own meals," she said.

Visitors to Kramat Tunggak will find prostitutes adroitly serving customers beers, which may not seem at all unusual, but symbolizes a unique relationship between brothel owners and prostitutes.

Prostitutes never allow men's glasses to get empty, constantly pouring them more beer. What may seem a simple act of courtesy or a sign of attention to the men is an attempt by the prostitutes to increase beer sales.

"We don't give prostitutes a share of the beer sales; it's just a matter of their helping us," said Sunar.

A number of prostitutes in the district spend their mornings away from the brothels, engaged in the normal activities of life in Jakarta.

"Sometimes we get bored staying in the brothel. We'll go out in the morning to the mall, but we always come back by 2 p.m.," said Santi.

Kramat Tunggak begins to come to life around 3 p.m, when the first customers begin to arrive.

Santi said the closure of the red-light district would make her life more difficult.

"I will work for brothel owners running their businesses here after the closure, even though the government says it is illegal," she said, adding that she would work as a prostitute until she found a husband.

"Before I find a husband, I will save a lot of money for my future by working as a prostitute," she said. (asa)