Thousands of Turkmen women forced into prostitution by poverty
For my children’s sake: Thousands of Turkmen women forced into prostitution by poverty
29.12.2024
Article published on the azattyq.org website
Poverty and chronic unemployment are forcing some Turkmen women into prostitution in order to feed their families. Several sex workers, who shared their stories with Azattyq, said they have faced violence, police exploitation and stigmatisation.
Maral became a sex worker to provide for her two young children. The 38-year-old woman, the sole family breadwinner, said that her desperate financial situation forced her into prostitution four years ago.
“There were times when I couldn’t afford to cook a hot meal for my children for weeks, let alone buy school supplies for them”, said Maral (her name has been changed to protect her anonymity).
Maral is just one of thousands of sex workers believed to be in Turkmenistan, with widespread poverty, unemployment and severe food shortages forcing women into the sex trade.
A native of the town of Turkmengala in the south-eastern part of the country, Maral was dependent on money from her husband who had gone to work in Turkey. But then he stopped sending payments and is no longer in touch with her.
Maral registered with her local unemployment office but was unable to get a job. She managed to find seasonal work picking cotton which was exhausting and poorly paid. She struggles to pay her rent and the family diet consists only of bread and tea.
“I have no-one to help me. My parents are elderly and my mother-in-law is in poor health. I have made repeated requests to social services for assistance but received no support”, she said.
Prostitution is illegal in Turkmenistan and sex workers try to hide their involvement from their families.
“Turning to prostitution wasn’t our choice – it was done out of sheer desperation”, said one sex worker from Mary province in the south-east of the country who did not want to be named. “This need not have happened if the Government had given us jobs”, she said.
Police exploitation
Prostitution is a crime in Turkmenistan, with a first offence subject to a fine and the second involving a possible two-year prison sentence. Despite the ban and widespread stigmatisation in this predominately Muslim country, prostitution in Turkmenistan has existed for many years.
Prostitution has become more prevalent in recent years due to the rising cost of living, according to sex workers and residents of Mary and Lebap provinces who did not want to be named. Young women usually find clients in bars and restaurants, charging between $60 and $140 for their services, while the older ones look for trade on the street or at truck stops, charging between $15 and $30.
The work carries many risks: prostitutes can contract sexually transmitted diseases and become victims of violence or human trafficking. “Some clients refuse to pay the pre-agreed price – some are verbally abusive and others use physical or sexual violence”, said a sex worker in Lebap.
Prostitutes also accuse the country’s security forces of exploitation and blackmail. According to several female sex workers, the police often detain prostitutes and force them to pick cotton and undertake other agricultural tasks during the harvest season.
The Turkmen authorities regularly force students, teachers and other Government employees to work in the cotton fields. “We face pressure from high-ranking officials from the regional police and the prosecutor’s office”, said one sex worker.
“They take us to the police station and say they will let us go without a fine or criminal prosecution, but warn us that “you will have to perform a service for us free of charge whenever we want”. She did not reveal the names of the officials.
The authorities in Mary and Lebap provinces and the capital Ashgabat have not responded to Azatlyk’s requests for comment.
