Nice girls don’t

Prostitution, I’ve noticed, doesn’t seem to exist in any of the small villages in this area.

Which is curious, given that the oldest profession is said to exist everywhere. It also raises some interesting questions.

Does prostitution exist mostly in the anonymity of cities? Does it cater to villagers only when they migrate to cities, being lonely away from wives and families?

Is the community here so small and tightly-knit, with everyone loosely related or at least on nodding terms, that prostitution – unless it’s openly done - becomes impossible?

Is there a lot of premarital sex among young people?

Goan are so prosperous that I don’t believe even the poorest woman among them has need to sell her body. It’s true also that in the small and fairly middle-class community that exists here everyone knows everyone else; if a man desires anonymity, he’s unlikely to get it. But from what I’ve seen of Goans, I don’t think a woman who prostitutes herself would be ostracised. People here seem far too easygoing for that.

Yet, it’s odd because marriages here take place very late. A woman who’s still unmarried at thirty is fairly common. And I have rarely seen local courting couples. In the evenings, the young men all hang out together at some corner or are zooming around on motorcycles, the girls are at home. Or they are returning home from work.

And that’s another thing. Working girls. Many, many unmarried village girls go to work in the small shops of the market at Chaudi, in government offices and the odd factory. During the tourist season, the poorer among them get cleaning jobs. Others work in travel agencies and internet cafes.

Prostitution seems like a nasty business in comparison.

I think it doesn’t exist because the girls are simply not interested. Or would that be just too simplistic a reason?