By P. Soma Palan –

P. Soma Palan

I refer to the Front Page news report in the Daily News of 18^th January 2024 under the heading “NPP Will Legalise Prostitution – Says Party Executive Member Samanmalee Gunasinghe” and express my views in response:

1. It appears the Political Party called NPP (National Peoples Power) has no constructive development Plan to offer to build the nation. Instead, Legalising of Prostitution in the country seems a top priority urgency of the Political Party aspiring to form a Government in the next election. The Party Executive Member Samanmalee Gunasinghe (SG) states, ”Prostitutes are created within the current system “.  That is, by the present Government. This is a false view. No outside entity can create prostitutes. Women take to prostitution by their own volition. Economic hardships and lack of employment avenues due to failure of economic development of the country creates prostitution is not a cogent reason. Prostitution is mainly due to moral and social decay of the country. Women take to Prostitution for the lure of easy money and for sensory bodily pleasure. SG states “prostitution exists in the culture whether one likes it or not.” This is another wrong view. Prostitution is a social and not a cultural aspect of a community. It is a degradation of human being. Culture is a plane higher than the individual being. Culture is dignifying and reverential. Doling out one’s body for a commodity price is not an expression of a culture of a community at large.

2. The majority culture of Sri Lanka is based on Buddhism. For instance liquor outlets are kept opened for a restricted time. Likewise, liquor shops are closed on Poya Full moon days. However, these restrictions are meaningless, because if consumption of alcohol is contrary to teachings of Buddhism, how can it become a virtue during non-restricted time and on non-poya day.  It is only a symbolic reverence to the Buddha’s teaching. Ironically, the NPP member SG pledges to legalise, a most degrading evil Prostitution, in the country. Furthermore, the Constitution of the country solemnly declares that “Buddhism will be given foremost Place and fostered and promoted”. Isn’t the pledge to legalise Prostitution run counter to above referred provision of the Constitution?

3. When a responsible member of a Political Party declares that Prostitution will be legalized when it comes to power, the religious heads of all Nikayas are slumbering in silence without voicing their disapproval. This amounts to their condoning it. On the other hand, they are vehement in requesting the President to bring in laws to prosecute those who distort Buddha Dhamma and its teachings. This is in the wake of an individual claiming supernatural powers of a Avalokeswara. The Buddhist Prelates of all Nikayas wants penal laws to prosecute those critical of Buddhism and the Sasana. Why fear criticism? If Buddhist teachings are distorted by some, the answer is not repression and prosecution, but countering and invalidating the distortions with superior force of truth, logic and reason. This is like bringing in Law of Blasphemy as in some other religion and issuing a “Fatwa”, passing the sentence of death to those who differ.

4. All religions founded by an individual human being and established in a rigid organized form, fear another religion. It is not only fear of another religion, but also deems it an enemy. Such organized religions are petrified by dogma and bigotry. The organized priestly Authorities want to protect themselves and religious teachings of the founder by repressive laws and prosecute them, claiming they distort their religion.

5. Giving lawful license to practice Prostitution will lead to proliferation of Brothels countrywide. It will become a thriving business to make money. To set up Brothels, investment is required, if it is to be run to modern standards, particularly to attract the Dollar owning tourists to the country. It cannot be done in the customary way as now in houses of ill-fame. It will require medical testing to prevent infectious and sexually transmissible diseases- Syphilis, Gonnorrhea and Aids. It should have regulatory Preventive mechanism against disease. Any economic activity requiring investment, Registration and issuance of License to conduct the Trade will open-up avenues for bribery and corruption for politicians and Officials. The Politicians will be benefitted as we can see in the case of Registration and issuance of Licenses for Liquor outlets and Petrel Sheds, which are directly owned or by proxies of politicians.

6. In my view making Prostitution lawful and bringing it under the Regulatory control of the State is better than allowing it to function in a clandestine manner harmful to society. But it will only be a palliative. But it will not elevate it to honorable status. In the West and other modern developed countries the words Prostitution and Prostitute are out of the nomenclature. These words are superseded by the words “Sex Work and Sex Workers”. In other words, it is another form of work or more correctly a service as much as physical or mental work. It becomes a moral and cultural issue if and when the sex worker is in wed-lock with family.

7. In the final analysis, Prostitution and Prostitutes even if called by different names as Sex Work and Sex Workers,  will not have a honorable place in Society, whether Western or Eastern societies. It will always be looked down by the larger part of humanity as degrading and demeaning by the cultural values of any society. Prostitution cannot be eradicated completely from society. It is deemed world’s oldest profession since beginning of time. In prehistoric time when one Tribe conquered other Tribes, took the captured females as sex slaves. The only way one can eliminate the evil of Prostitution is by education and awareness. The Family centered life and bringing up children with cultural and spiritual values and disciplined life-style can arrest the evil of prostitution.