GRACE MUGOYA discovers why some girls choose prostitution At night, as if the law only works during day, along certain streets and in some specific areas, ladies have turned to prostitution to make a living. Prostitution is illegal in Rwanda. Henry (not his real name) became interested in Ritah (not her real name), who was smartly dressed and nice looking. He willingly bought her drinks. “The lady was cool. She exploited her skills on the dance floor; it was wonderful. But later she requested to talk to me,” says Henry. “’Thanks for the drinks, but I need money. Frw15,000 a short or Frw30,00 a night, the choice is yours,’ Ritah explained to me.” I have always wondered why some beautiful ladies abandon all other businesses and turn to an illegal act. In some parts of Kigali’s most up market hotels and bars, prostitutes can make up to $200 per customer (Frw110,000), a bar attendant tells me. I compare this to how much a woman working in the market can make selling bananas, for example, and begin to understand why some ladies decide to prostitute themselves. Asking around, I discovered that prostitutes charge different amounts depending on where they work. Some cost as little as Frw3,000. I ask men why they are prepared to pay for sex. They tell me they find it very expensive to get married. Instead they resort to using prostitutes. When you compare other business, prices are uniform but with prostitution, costs change and customers have no rights since it is illegal. Prostitutes thus feel empowered to charge what they like, says one man. Prostitution does not require any liquid capital, so any lady can decide to do it, one prostitute tells me. “Ladies are enjoying abnormal profits since all what they get belongs to them. The government does not consider it as business so they are not entitled to pay taxes.” The system of payment also makes the ladies more comfortable. While monthly earners wait for the end month, a prostitute is paid even before she works, explains one man who claims to sleep with prostitutes. “This system was introduced when customers had developed a habit of eat and run. We used to make losses but now we feel more no problems connected to payment,” a prostitute says. Mary Nyamata, a 26 year old resident of Kiyovu, operates a small canteen in Kimyanga. She says she is happy with the little she gets out of it and discourages prostitution. Nyamata explains why ladies opt for this kind of work. It is explained to me that prostitution does not call for any professional skills like any other jobs. Therefore those who do not have any chance of being employed anywhere, easily resort to it. Ladies who have not got the chance of education have decided to live their lives as prostitutes “Most ladies become prostitutes because they want to have easy life as they claim they can’t engage themselves in hard and dirty work. Others believe they can become rich quick and easily,” says Nyamata. However, Nyamata lamented that prostitutes rarely become rich in life as they lack a proper spending plan. The Minister of Culture and Sports Joseph Habineza when consulted on the telephone said creating more job opportunities for citizens is a way of reducing prostitution since unemployment sometimes leads people to wrong acts. Ends
