Prostitution in Pakistan is a taboo culture of sex-trade that exists as an open secret but illegal. Prostitution is largely based in organisational setups like brothels or furthered by individual call girls. The sex trade is deemed illegal in the country due to the declaration of extramarital sex as an immoral activity. Pakistani prostitutes, thus, operate underground and in spite of the legal difficulties, prostitution in Pakistan is prevalent.
Most analysts recognize poverty as a crucial factor in driving women towards an occupation such as prostitution. With this increase in professional sex-trade in the country, non-governmental organisations are beginning to worry about issues like discrimination and AIDS. The clan system in South Asia , involving various clans and sects, has always been a ground for segregated skill development. In the region, occupational clans evolved over time providing specific skills to the society through hereditary exclusion from others.
Being a blacksmith , goldsmith , shoemaker , or gardener etc. Over time, a professional clan which favoured the society with services of prostitution also evolved. Men and women belonging to the community committed themselves to the sex trade, where men stayed as supportive influences and women were the main workers. The non-elite had a parallel system, that of brothels, which evolved much later when they no longer were controlled by the kings and nobility was loosened. It coincided with the growth of sea-trade where sailors became good clientele for the low-ranking prostitutes.
During the British Raj , the earlier nobility was replaced by a new nobility composed of those who showed loyalty for the British.
This new nobility was incapable of taking the role of patrons like earlier kings, and so the British provided much need patronage for the profession to grow and regulated the trade. Prostitution was formalised for the first time in the South Asia by the British government in the midth century. The British colonialists enacted special laws, created "red light" areas and assigned the task of protecting women sex workers to law-enforcing agencies.
