'Scum of society' turn new tricks in Surabaya

'Scum of society' turn new tricks in Surabaya

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java

Wise men say that the holy month of Ramadhan belongs to all human
beings, including people who are branded as "scum of society".
And a one-night Koran recital competition in the Putat Jaya red-
light district in Surabaya has just shown it.

That night, dozens of women who usually earn money turning
tricks, demonstrated their skills reciting the holy verses,
turning an area usually fulled with dangdut (popular local music
with strong Arab/Indian influences) and illegal sex-related
activities to be a silent site filled with a religious
atmosphere.

The women, wearing head scarves and no makeup, came one by one
to the stage and started to recite the Koran with their
breathtaking voices.

"This is the night that I can't forget .... They are really
impressing me," said Pak No, an old man who works as a security
guard in the red-light district.

Qoriyah, a sex worker from Tambak Asri -- another red-light
district in the city -- was nominated as the winner. Holding a
Koran in her hand, she could only smile when The Jakarta Post
congratulated her.

As the best Koran reader, Qoriyah won a trophy and Rp
1,750.000 (US$205). While the second and third place getters won
Rp 1,500.000 and 1,250.000 respectively.

"I'm sorry ... I can't speak Indonesian," replied Qoriyah,
from Madura island in East Java.

Speaking in her mother-tongue, Qoriyah said that reading the
Koran was something that she used to do when she was very young.
Once she won a similar competition in her hometown, Sampang, on
Madura Island. "It was when I had yet to work as sex worker,"
Qoriyah said.

Another woman named Naning, 22, could even stir the audience
when she started to recite Al-Baqoroh verses. But, just like
Qoriyah, she smiled, saying that she had once studied at the
Darul Ulum Islamic boarding school in Mojokerto, East Java, so
that "reading holy verses is something usual for me".

The recent Koran recital competition (MTQ) for commercial sex
workers was held in cooperation with Sidewalkers Journalist
Alliance and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan)'s woman affairs department. All of the participants
were sexual workers at five red-light districts across Surabaya:
Jarak, Gang Dolly, Putat Jaya, Moroseneng and Tambak Asri.

There were initially 27 young women contesting the
competition, but at the last moment, two women decided to resign
because they were menstruating.

"I usually recite the Koran after midnight when my guests have
left my room," said Juli, a tiny young woman from Lumajang.

"I even joined a club of people reciting the Koran, who gather
in front of my operation area," she added, referring to the most
popular red-light district in the town, Gang Dolly.

According to Muhammad Suaib Najib, one of the judges and also
a journalist from the Surabaya-based Radio Republik Indonesia
(RRI), the committee adjusted the grades in determining winners,
considering that even though the women were able to read Arabic
words fluently, they were not as professional as participants at
the national-level competition.

"Through the competition, we try to share this holy month with
them. Everybody has the right to get close to Allah," Najib told
the Post.

"I'm glad that they voluntarily joined the competition.
Despite the way they earn money, they are just humans like us,"
Herlambang, the committee chairman, added.