Introduction

Culturally and historically, Pakistan is very much a part of South Asia. Over the centuries, the subcontinent was divided, and re-divided, into several independent states by different invaders. It is only since 1947, however, that Pakistan has taken on a distinct identity as a separate country with its own distinct sovereignty. In these last 55 years it has evolved its own specific cultural features, firstly as a Muslim state and secondly because of its own distinct political and economic developments.

Although prostitution is a universal phenomenon, in the subcontinent it acquired a unique form. It comes closest to the geisha system of Japan (Golden, 1998). Prostitution was not seen as sex alone, but as part of an entertainment package that included enjoying music, poetry, witty conversation, female company, alcohol and sexual services with the service providers trained well in all of these skills (Madhur and Gupta, 1965; Punekar and Rao, 1967). In these communities there were also musicians of high calibre who provided only the music, while the dancing girls or the women singers additionally provided sexual services. Mostly these groups of entertainers had the patronage of those who could afford to nurture such communities, including the ruling class, royalty and the nobles. Communities of singers, dancers and entertainers evolved and became associated with the different courts of the rulers (Joardar, 1984). They resided close to the ruling estates to provide services to the rulers and their courtiers and travelled with the armies to provide services for the officers. Specific areas in settlements were designated for prostitutes, where they lived and provided their services. They were called to the palaces of the rulers to provide music and other services as needed and desired. This system is also known as the courtesan system (Saeed, 2001).

In South Asia, occupational castes evolved over time for people who provided specialised skills to a community. Thus blacksmiths, goldsmiths, shoemakers, gardeners and other such ‘lower ranking’ occupations became the hereditary professions of specific communities. A professional caste for prostitutes also evolved over time. This caste was given different names in different areas, but all of them basically meant that this community was one of prostitutes (Rao and Rao, 1967; Joardar, 1985). Their men and women belonged to the same group, even though men provided a support role while women were the main workers.