No society is perfect, so it's not surprising if ignorance becomes convenient when we grow up in a society of a dominant culture, religion and traditions (let alone the law) where at its very core acts such as prostituition is strictly prohibited. That doesn't necessarily mean ignorance wouldn't exist if we lived in a more 'liberated' NON-Bangali/Muslim society, where the existence and extent of prostituition could be more widespread and even seen as an acceptable mean of livelihood regardless of its legality.
The question is whether 'we' as Bangali/Muslims find it difficult to accept such unpleasant reality because we want to protect our cultural purity, or are the vast majority of us just unaware and could care less? Is it not possible that many of us are simply guilty of no longer adhering to our culture and religion and all this Bangali/Muslim identity is only a facade?
Because I don't think it's entirely true that Bangladeshis always defend the harsh truth of our society, as I'm sure many of us are well aware and even victims of the political violence, crime, terrorism and corruption in our country.. How come no one didn't mentioned acid-throwing and rapes? Is it not a significant issue anymore? Sameercreep, since you worked in an NGO, I'm sure you know a lot about it.. Can you honestly clarify whether the subject of this thread is your concern about our frail, insecure and ignorant culture, or is it a wake up call to do something about those prostitutes?
I can safely assume some of those women have a choice in prostituition, but what about acid and rape victims? Aren't those 'un-Bangali, un-Islamic and inhumane' acts too? Well I don't see people denying those, in fact almost every day I watched/read the news back in BD (also nearly 4 years ago) I saw some tragic acid-victim. If I'm correct there has been many campaigns and laws established since then to bring those criminals to justice. If we were so ignorant or protective of our 'Bangali/Muslim-ness' there would be none of this.
You see big issues like these can easily cast shadow over minor or 'least expected' activities like prostituition, it's very likely they go unnoticed to majority of Bangladeshis 'living there' due to their lack of knowledge or care. Words of a co-worker who probably lives a sorted life in a middle or upper-class socierty does not equal to the average Bangladeshi who is aware and concerned about the situations there. This itself is also being selective of who is and isn't an ignorant Bangladeshi, therefore "ignorant". So to generalise "Bangladeshis" as a whole 'ignorant' of reality because they're "insecure" of their "frail identity" is an even bigger ignorance.
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