Understanding Prostitutes and Prostitution in Democratic Burma, 1942–62 State Jewels or Victims of Modernity?
Abstract
Prostitution in Burmese society, as in many South East
Asian countries, is a taboo subject. Unlike prostitution in countries
such as Thailand, however, prostitution in Burma does not attract
strong media or scholarly debate. The state and the media in Burma,
during both colonial and post-colonial periods, have tended and
tend to see the problem of prostitution as one of ‘others’. Colonialism,
a decline in morality and the corruption of women influenced
by modernity or Western culture have often been portrayed as the
culprits. This article analyses the Burmese terms for prostitutes and
examines how prostitution was portrayed by the print media between
1942 and 1962, during which time the press was thought to have
enjoyed a certain degree of freedom. Seen as a threat to the British
troops during the colonial period, prostitutes were subject to controversial
medical screenings; yet, seen as victims of modernity
during Burma’s parliamentary period (1948–62), they were often
left on their own to ‘resurrect’ their morality.