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In regard to the entertainment industry, focus on the important
issues of maternal health and rights to reproductive choice
has obscured two vital questions: How do repeated abortions
affect the physical and psychological health of the entertainment
worker Although getting an abortion may be a woman’s
choice, is getting pregnant her choice Nepal’s notable success
in ensuring the reproductive rights of women cannot obscure
the reality of the damage to girls and women caused by an
industry that makes money through the use of their bodies.
Smoking and drinking
In the entertainment industry, with the exception of the massage
parlours, the workers make their commissions and the owners
make their primary profit from selling alcohol. Waitresses
encourage customers to consume by sharing alcohol with
them. As Nepali customers primarily drink beer, so do the
waitresses, and a waitress may consume up to 3 or 4 bottles
in an evening. 134 When asked what unhealthy habits they are
forced to adopt, more than one half said drinking. 135 Cigarette
smoking is also a health concern. More than two thirds of
restaurant workers smoke cigarettes, and the majority of
workers say this is a result of their job. 136 In the closed confines
of a bar or cabin restaurant, even non-smokers are affected.
workers as well as clients sometimes smoke ganja or charas,
as do many youth in the Kathmandu Valley. However, few use
heroin or its derivatives or take tablets. 138 Methamphetamines
have yet to arrive in the sex industry of Nepal, although the
use of yabaa 139 dominates the sex industry of Thailand. In many
countries of the world, substance abuse significantly affects
workers in the sex industry, and it remains to be seen what
substances will in time dominate the new sex industry of
Nepal.
Workplace environment
Nepal and international labour law require that the workplace
provides a non-toxic environment for workers. Entertainment
workers have frequently noted the dark, noisy and smoky
atmosphere of their workplace. 140 Most entertainment venues
are closed to the outside, lack windows and have no form of
ventilation. Noise levels which are of sufficient level to bother
neighbours may have an affect on the hearing of restaurant
workers. No informants have reported first aid facilities or
places away from the business environment where workers
can rest.
Substance abuse
There is little evidence of substance abuse among entertainment
workers, although its illegality probably results in significant
under-reporting. 137 Informal reports indicate that entertainment
2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 58