“RED light districts that is lawfully ideal for prostitution is ordinary in some western countries, but Zimbabwe may soon encompass its own if views by some are taken seriously. There is no doubt that the issue is set to mess up the feathers of purist and moralists.”
The issue was prompted by calls from certain Members of Parliament recently to legalize prostitution .The calls are already causing a public stir, with debate centered on the compensation and inconvenience of authorizing prostitution. Those who are for prostitution say it has been in existence for a long time to the extent that it has become part of the society .
Authorizing the subordinate, they say, will only be recognizing the reality that prostitution will always be around .But those who are against the issue claims that authorizing the practice would be equivalent to markdown (ignore) morals.
A Social Science lecturer at Midlands State University Mr. Elikana Shoko said authorizing prostitution would obliterate (destroy) Zimbabwean culture. “It is engaging in endorsed sexual encounters and immoral behavior from customary (traditional) point of view”, he said. “Society has its own values and norms which have to be safeguard by its own people and not to be demoralized by the customs of Westernization”. In developed countries, sex workers coddle (indulge) in sexual activities not because of poverty but to satisfy their sexual desires unlike prostitution in Zimbabwe who does it as a source of income,” he said. One can actually see the brains of a few restricted prostitutes who are well informed of what is happening elsewhere and want to smuggle such weird practices into Zimbabwean society .”It’s traditional abhorred (despised) behavior ,but today it’s a necessary evil because the prostitutes will tell you it’s better to engage in sex than to die of hunger ,”he said.
Tatenda Dzane a Social Science student at Midlands State University stated that “how can an obvious evil be necessarily good.”
“Another expert in sociology, who detained to be named, said instead of authorizing prostitution, society needs to be educated to safeguard African customs.
“From a sociological point, it is benefiting to uphold teachings that can protect some of our esteemed (valued) ways of society in the fast changing world of modernity,” said the expert. “Let us prevent the loss of identity through fitting in Western ways of life that will result in a characterless society.”Prostitution has been there since time immemorial, but in our instance it was fueled by colonization. The “Profession” has always been condemned in African culture and calls for its legislation are not a non-starter in this part of the world.
Prostitution at Midlands State University boomed during the 2008 era when basic commodities such as food and clothing disappeared. Edison Rwafa a landlord in Senga Area 2 of Gweru said that “in 2008 prostitution at Midlands State University increased enormously, thus in some instances some male landlords in the area would even receive their rent in kind since money had became a scarce resource”
The History of Black Struggle claims that prostitution in Zimbabwe came with the modernity, as prostitutes were used for sexual gratification in the towns as wives of men working for the whites were not allowed because of the nature of accommodation that was available at that time, in pursuit of this a History Lecturer at Midlands State university Mr.Munhande said “women were allowed into beer halls to provide entertainment and sexual pleasures to men who could not journey each time to the rural areas to be with their families”
Referred to as the world’s oldest profession, prostitution is the soliciting of sexual favors for monetary gain. It is a booming source of income in the West, particularly in countries like Germany, Greece and the Netherlands.The Minister of Health and Child Welfare ,Dr Henry Madzorera was quoted as saying at the workshop that there would be benefits if prostitution was legalized .Sex work, which I prefer to call prostitution ,if recognized ,will not increase the number of people infected with HIV and Aids ,especially if complemented with adequate programmes because these people have been there since biblical times and do not emit diseases ,” he said. Dr Madzorera‘s sentiments were echoed at the work shop by Bulawayo East Member of Parliament Ms Tabitha khumalo ,who was quoted as saying that prostitutes offered critical service to society. They offer critical services which are always on demand and should not be called prostitutes but ‘pleasure engineers’,” said Ms Khumalo.
This trade is seen as a trade that knows neither Age nor Place that is why it also infringing in High Schools and Universities. Bryan Gumbo a Social Science student at Midlands State University said that “financial ills are costing the whole scenario of prostitution at Midlands State University”.
Unnamed Senga ZRP police stated that “a 21 year old girl of Midlands State University was caught and arrested for stripping in a Club named Insomnia on March 1, of this year”.
A group of boys of Midlands State University uttered this at an interview with them “prostitution is nothing much to the destruction of African culture; they claimed that if the Western brought civilization to Africa and people accepted then why not indulge prostitution as part of civilization…”
The issue of prostitution that has become another phase of globalization still remains the ball in the court those ascribed to the core idea of it defends it by saying “we are longing to see its authorization” whilst the non-affirmative are saying “why do we need to renew the age of Solomon”.
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