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Prostitution

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Prostitution is a phenomenon that can be dated back to the very beginnings of man's history on earth. To the times of the Christian Messiah and of the Islamic messenger; it has existed as long as man was able to conceive and be conceived. Prostitution is defined as “the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment”. In other words, it is basically selling sexual pleasures to a person so as to receive money. People hold a general belief that females are the sole practitioners of prostitution; however recent research has shown that males engage in this act as well and in advanced cultures only. Globally, prostitution is shunned upon; in every area except Las Vegas, USA and Red Light District, Holland where the practice of prostitution is legal. (McLeod) Many cultures and religions regard it as profane and a sin but regardless of the general distaste, the practice still exists.

The fact that Nigeria is a developing, and one of the most corrupt nations in the world, doesn’t help the matter of prostitution in universities. Due to the weakening economy and widespread corruption, tuition in universities all over the country continues to rise. (McLeod) This constant increase is part of what is forcing these ladies to engage in such nefarious acts. While passing through the streets of Lagos at night, one is likely to find at least ten prostitutes on the side of the road. There are more of them on what can be termed the richer parts of town. Most of the women on these streets are young ladies from college campuses that are in it as a means of paying their fees or getting money in order to buy better things so as to further elevate themselves on the social leader. Also, some of these young ladies, a lot of them from poverty stricken families, are usually the bread-winners of the family, often times making more money than their parents and using said income in order to support their usually large families. (Uzokwe)

In poor nations, young girls who are just maturing become prostitutes due to challenging circumstances where they are forced to per take in the immoral occupation. A Glasgow study reports, “the majority of women in prostitution are poor, homeless and have suffered violence and abuse.”(McLeod) Prostitution is another factor that influences gender inequality in developing nations, which counter the progress made by the United Nation's Millennium Development Goal program which involves creating gender equality and empowering women through education.

As a result of corruption in the country, the police are doing almost nothing to stop these prostitutes, they pass them on the street and do nothing, and some even enlist their services. This only serves to further encourage these young girls. As a result of such nonentity, not only does prostitution continue to spread, but its effects become even more dramatic. The increase of AIDS is very much correlated to the increase in prostitution, and also are the decrease in literary rates, as girls begin to just bribe their way through school, or engage in sexual intercourse with a lecturer, so as to pass a class. Girls regard prostitution as a means to escape poverty, however prostitution increases the rate of poverty, and suffering, as this job is only temporary, and inflicts incurable diseases such as AIDS upon the females. (Aids and Prostitution) Moreover the need to escape from poverty has extended beyond just local prostitution, now there's illegal trafficking of young girls into Europe to become prostitutes. The trafficking of women from Nigeria to Europe began in the 1980s when many girls migrated to Italy to work in tomato fields. The men who traffic these women are called “pimps.” These pimps promise a better future and job opportunities in Europe and young innocent girls succumb and marvel at the imagination of a better life. “Nigeria is the largest single source (of prostitutes being trafficked to Europe), almost all of them from Edo and Delta states in the south”.(Guest)

There's a famous slang in Nigeria called “photocopy.” This is the same as the English word, however used in a different context. The slang photocopy is used mainly among teenagers, and young adults when referring to someone trying to imitate a particular characteristic or property of another person. It is basically photocopying the person. Peer pressure can metaphorically serve as a photocopying machine where many girls want to be just like the other based solely on the glorification of material objects. Nigeria is a developing country where “almost two thirds of employed women are in vulnerable jobs as own-account or unpaid family worker.” (Uzokwe) Therefore, there exists a class-based society with no middle class, just the rich and the poor. Everybody wants to be rich, or rather everybody wants to seem rich.

6) Friedman, Thomas L.(Author) ;. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How It Can Renew America [HOT FLAT & CROWDED 7D]. New York: Macmillan Audio, 2008. Print.

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