Bangladesh - The brothel's children

Walking along the dark alleys of Daulatdia is a difficult task when you are 6,5 foot tall. But the difficulty is even bigger when you realize what is going on behind the dirty, patchy curtains that cover the entrances.

Around 2,000 women are working here in the biggest brothel in Bangladesh. One might expect a hotel-type settlement and high heels that make the skirts look even shorter, but this is no red district. The atmosphere here is bleaker than Dickens's.

The sun is barely getting through the narrow alleys where a fruit vendor might share the space with a client enjoying a post-coital cigarette.

Some women come here to escape a violent past. But these are just a few. Most of them are forced into prostitution, either being kidnapped, sold or tricked.

The average age of getting into the brothel is 14. By the time they get to 20, they are considered decrepit. The price drops suddenly and the idea of buying their freedom turns into an illusion.

A young girl might get around 400 taka ($6) from a client, but those in their twenties have to settle only for a quarter of that amount.

The problem is getting bigger when they get pregnant with a client. An abortion is risky and expensive, but not using condoms means there are lots of children in Daulatdia.

You get your stomach torn upside-down when you realize that having no other place to stay, most of the time the children must witness their mother being visited by clients.

There are few prostitutes who are paying for their children to stay in other villages, but for the rest of the kids the only quiet moments of the day are those spent in the local school.

Perhaps this is a very generous word for that ramshackle room covered in newspapers. But this is the only place where the children can read, write or draw.

And this was the place where I met Pinky. Quite an irony for a 10-year girl to have such a colorful name in such a grim place.

She didn't knew her father. A one time client, perhaps. And she was not judgmental towards her mother. At least, not in public. But she knew for a fact that she is not going to follow her footsteps.

”What would you like to become when you grow up”, I asked. Starring at me with her big deery eyes she replied full of confidence: ”I want to be a doctor”.

Writing this on my confortable sofa, zipping from a hot cup of coffee, life is enjoyable. But my mind keeps traveling back to Pinky. „Is she on track to fulfill her dream?” I really do hope she is!