Tuesday, 03 July 2012 13:13 Mizzima News
An editorial in Burma’s state-run newspaper on Tuesday on “Myanmar’s Women’s Day” urged the public to fight gender discrimination and it cited the problem of prostitution, which it said is growing and can be found in “massage parlors and beer pubs” and other venues.
The “Perspective” column on Page 2 in The New Light of Myanmar said the best way to fight prostitution and the abuse of women in Burma is to “offer decent jobs and incomes to girls working in the industry.”
“We need to create more job opportunities that offer decent salaries to the female work force,” it said.
Authorities in Burma regularly announce bans and restrictions on massage parlors and restrictions on restaurants, karaoke lounges and beauty parlors in Rangoon and the capital, Naypyitaw, in a bid to curb disguised prostitution.
Many massage parlors and hotels are fronts for brothels, while other venues also sometimes offer sexual services, according to police.
Prostitution is illegal in Burma and anyone caught running a brothel can be imprisoned. However, often it is the women workers who are arrested instead of the owners of such establishments.
The lure of incomes draws young, uneducated and desperate women from impoverished areas to larger cities.
Upper scale nightclubs in Rangoon are also frequented by prostitutes who work independently. Since Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, the number of prostitutes in Rangoon has increased significantly, according to reports in the media.
An editorial in Burma’s state-run newspaper on Tuesday on “Myanmar’s Women’s Day” urged the public to fight gender discrimination and it cited the problem of prostitution, which it said is growing and can be found in “massage parlors and beer pubs” and other venues.
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| The Power Light Karaoke Bar in Rangoon. Photo: allmyanmar.com |
The “Perspective” column on Page 2 in The New Light of Myanmar said the best way to fight prostitution and the abuse of women in Burma is to “offer decent jobs and incomes to girls working in the industry.”
“We need to create more job opportunities that offer decent salaries to the female work force,” it said.
Authorities in Burma regularly announce bans and restrictions on massage parlors and restrictions on restaurants, karaoke lounges and beauty parlors in Rangoon and the capital, Naypyitaw, in a bid to curb disguised prostitution.
Many massage parlors and hotels are fronts for brothels, while other venues also sometimes offer sexual services, according to police.
Prostitution is illegal in Burma and anyone caught running a brothel can be imprisoned. However, often it is the women workers who are arrested instead of the owners of such establishments.
The lure of incomes draws young, uneducated and desperate women from impoverished areas to larger cities.
Upper scale nightclubs in Rangoon are also frequented by prostitutes who work independently. Since Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, the number of prostitutes in Rangoon has increased significantly, according to reports in the media.
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