legalizing the world's oldest profession... in syria?

I
LOVE
SNOW!!!!!
it is so gorgeous. i can't wait till musa realizes how much fun it is :)

anyway on to the topic at hand. in light of all the discussions on chastity in the muslim world at various blogs i mentioned a couple of posts ago, i was very interested to read this editorial on sexual repression in syria at washingtonpost.com, in which the author notes that prostitution was once legalized in syria and argues that it should be again, in order to better control it. i was especially intrigued to see some of the comments echoing what we have been discussing - that in the arab (or muslim) world what needs to change is the attitude toward female chastity AND male lack thereof.

some of what this man says:
"For years, many in the Arab World have been sexually deprived... Some would argue that Islam is the reason for sexual deprivation, but I stand against such an argument. True, Islam limits interaction between sexes and calls for modesty in dress and conduct, but so does Christianity and Judaism. The other factors -- mainly seclusion, lack of education education, and poverty -- lead to a permanent psychological disorder. In many cases, people become obsessed with sex in its most primitive form.
...
One case that comes to mind is a taxi driver in Damascus who I rode with many years ago as a young child. Every single unveiled woman he saw on the street, he would describe as a prostitute... The problem is that with the absence of proper gender interaction, such a mentality will not only flourish but will also distort the balance of normal and healthy sexual activity.
...
Moral prudes and Islamists might argue against what I just wrote, but it is like trying to brush a problem under the rug instead of exposing it in a civilized manner, with the intention of resolving and humanizing it. Legalizing prostitution will certainly not lessen it, but rather, only make it controllable."


well, i don't know if i qualify as a moral prude or islamist, but something about legalization just doesn't sit right with me. i'm going to think out "loud" for a minute. if a government takes the stance that moral standards are part of the personal realm, and cannot be regulated by the government, then it can't criminalize any kind of interaction between "consenting adults" (which is the phrase of choice here in america) except by the people's choice, which i'm assuming is why most of the U.S. states criminalize prostitution.
but ASIDE from the huge, heinous and growing problem of human trafficking, prostitution to my understanding is a profession that functions by demand. poor women tossed around by other social cruelties need to make money to support themselves, kids born out of wedlock, etc., and there are always - have always been - men who will pay for it. (i knowwww there are exceptions to the rule, and women who do this b/c they want to, yada yada)
i think that if you limit the supply, the customer will go elsewhere and find it (hence the argument to legalize, so that where the customer goes is not to some underage albanian captive). BUT, if you limit the demand, then the supply will necessary dwindle, because those women will have to look elsewhere for ways to make money.

i know that is not an economically sound argument at all. but i think legalization is a band-aid solution - it's saying, we can't ever stop people from doing this, so let's at least bring it out into the open so we know how it's being done and can reduce the number of people hurt by it. but even with legalization, how will you EVER stop a black market trade in slaves? it's not going to disappear just because federal agents can walk into your house of ill repute. it's going to go deeper underground, where sick b******s will pay more for illegal, younger girls. i agree with the commenters on the article who said that legalizing will only keep poor women and girls in that awful status.

i say target the men. and i say, once again, that we raise moral standards for men instead of lowering them for women. tackle the economic factors, too - when my hubby came back from studying in syria, he mentioned surprise that so many of the men there married so late - 30 or after - because they were expected to have a certain amount of assets before even offering to marry a girl. how many guys do you know that can wait until 30?? and until the state and social norms makes it easier for women to get an education and develop the ability to support themselves, there will always be women with nowhere else to turn.

i guess i am concluding that maybe prostitution is a symptom of a sick society, not an illness in itself that can be "controlled". i'd like to know others' thoughts on this.

and if you haven't seen the lifetime movie human trafficking with mira sorvino, robert carlyle and donald sutherland, go find a way to see it!!! it will stay with you forever.