Prostitution: Out with the old…

28 Sep, 2014 - 06:09 0 Views
Prostitution: Out with the old…

The Sunday Mail

2609-2-1-CHILD PROSTITUTION 1 FILE PICTUREFor a profession that is said to be as old as time, it has abhorrently become unkind to the old.

Younger, aggressive and suave looking girls have assumed apparent dominance over much older ladies of the night.

Back in the day, for 28-year-old Eunice (not real name), a prostitute who operates from Overspill Shopping Centre – arguably the hub of socially reprehensible nocturnal activity in the bustling peri-urban township of Epworth – life was a breeze.

Back then, she claims over one night she could generate enough money to cover her rentals as well as other household expenses from her nocturnal operations.

Hers was a luxurious life.

Often, satisfied clients would shower her with expensive gifts and trinkets, generous tips and trips to the best outdoor entertainment centres across Harare, all in exchange for one night’s satisfaction.

Back then she lived the life of a demi-goddess, admired and loathed by different sections of her community, friends and foes all in equal measure.

Hers was a lucrative one-woman venture, whose lifeblood was reliant on her ability to please men in bed but more importantly, catch the eye of prospective clients amid the hustle and bustle of the Epworth nightlife.

Under such conditions she thrived.

Today, however, things have drastically changed.

Whilst she thrived back then largely due to her youthful looks and ability to please in bed, today she is wilting under the bludgeon of aggressive competition from much younger girls who have taken Overspill by storm.

Young girls, some as young as 14 years old, have entered the fray posing a lethal rivalry to the older ladies of the night and effectively forcing them out of business.

In Overspill, especially along the notorious paBooster stretch of gravel road, the younger girls are the only game in town, condemning Eunice and her equally “old” peers to live off the “scraps”.

Unlike in her heyday, Eunice can now barely generate enough money to cover much of her basic household expenses, let alone the luxuries she had become accustomed to.

“Things are very bad for us, older girls,” she told The Sunday Mail Extra.

“The competition from these younger girls is forcing us out of business.

“Not many clients would take a second look at a girl like me when there are much younger girls around.”

In an industry where the dogma is, “younger is better and safer”, Eunice is just one of the many older girls to have been hit by the invasion.

Her dressing on the night that this news crew caught up with her – a pair of old Nike sneakers, a bright red dress that has clearly seen better days and a brownish-looking pair of socks protruding between her shoes and the dress – betrayed her capitulation and surrender to fate.

As the night wore on inside a popular local joint last week – one by one the younger ones were all scooped away by clearly inebriated patrons.

However, in another corner, a group of older looking girls – Eunice among them – cowered in the shadows with very little evidence that they might draw any attention from the patrons.

“Musatye mudhara,” said Clever, one youthful Epworth resident – a half empty ‘Super’ clutched carefully between his right palm.

He took one swig.

“Manje manje vasikana vamakatarisa ivava vanenge vava vemadollar for two,” he said in apparent reference to the bargain fees the older girls charge as the night wears on.

In this industry, charges fall as demand withers and the night wears on.

He then took three gulps before rubbing his lips with the back of his left arm and bellows out what sounded like a groan of deep satisfaction.

Once certain of his satisfaction, he stumbles across the bar towards the dark and dingy corner where Eunice and her colleagues are domiciled.

He is on the prowl.

His target: a girl also standing in the dark corner, probably of similar age to Eunice.

He grabs her by the arm.

Before long, the duo is engrossed in deep conversation.

Soon enough, a deal is struck.

The two walk out of the joint, arms around each other’s lower torsos.

As they walk past, Clever raises his ‘‘Super’’ towards The Sunday Mail Extra crew – in apparent acknowledgment of his successful conquest.

A bargain conquest one would assume.

A wily smirk plasters his face.

Could he have grabbed a ‘‘dollar for two’’ bargain?

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