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Most pimping appears to be conducted by other females: older
women who are more experienced in the trade and who
maintain a form of maternal control over younger girls. These
women ‘leaders’ – often the same persons who have brought
the girls from the countryside – may exert control over several
girls, providing them with rooms, taking them shopping and
helping them if they have problems with owners, clients or
police. They are sometimes described as “gatekeepers”.
As in most parts of the world, taxi drivers are procurers of
sex workers for customers, and for many during evening hours,
this is a significant supplement to their income. Throughout
the Kathmandu Valley, lodges and guest houses provide contact
with sex workers on request. This is conducted discretely,
usually after the customer has rented a room, or arranged by
telephone before the customer arrives. 54
THE ECONOMICS OF THE SEX INDUSTRY
There is no clear profile of the owners of entertainment
establishments that provide sexual services, although interviews
indicate that most are from outside the Kathmandu Valley.
Many are from the districts surrounding the Kathmandu Valley,
from which most of the girls also come. Approximately 80%
of the owners are men. 55 Women owners are often former
sex workers. Many own more than one establishment, and
shift the girls and women around between establishments, as
customers prefer to frequent the same venue but desire to
see new faces and bodies.
For many entrepreneurs, the sex industry is lucrative. At the
same time, in the last few years the proliferation of dance
bars, cabin restaurants and dohoris appears to exceed the
number of available clients, and many owners complain of
inadequate income. The government’s decision in 2008 to
close entertainment establishments at 11 p.m. resulted in a
short spate of protests. Although the owners – with the
support of journalists and rights advocates – said that the
decision was an abuse of workers’ rights 56 and free enterprise,
it appears that the protests were organised by owners primarily
due to concern for their revenues. Notably, there were
relatively few protests by the female entertainment workers
themselves, many of whom stated that they were happy to be
released from working overtime without payment.
The workers, in addition to their salaries, receive a small
percentage of the sale of alcohol and food to customers.
Information gathered from local non-governmental organisations
suggests that the younger the girl the less ‘salary‘ is being paid.
Many young girls working in massage parlours reported a
salary of NPR 5,000 per month. The majority of profit from
sex work, inflated cost of alcohol and food accrues to the
owners. In a 2008 study, more than half of the owners
interviewed said they earned a daily gross income of NPR
1,000 to 10,000, or between NPR 30,000 and 300,000 per
month. Notably, nearly one quarter earned a gross income of
over NPR 31,000 per day, or over NPR 930,000 per month. 57
2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 41