[afro-nets] Prostitutes Learn Kama Sutra To Combat AIDS In India

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

Prostitutes Learn Kama Sutra To Combat AIDS In India
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Friday, January 9, 2004

A doctor is teaching prostitutes to use Kama Sutra in their work
as a way to prevent the spread of AIDS in India, where 5 million
people are HIV-positive, according to a Los Angeles Times re-
port.

Prostitutes can seduce clients with traditional entertainment
such as dancing, singing, yoga and herbal oil massages, making
them less likely to resist when asked to put on a condom. Also,
shorter sex reduces the risk of injuries to the skin that can
spread HIV.

Since mid-August, a model, a beautician, a social worker and a
madam skilled in persuading prostitutes, have been spreading the
virtues of the Kama Sutra in Calcutta through a free six-month
course.

So far, about 20 prostitutes have joined, meeting twice a week
in brothels for instruction, sometimes with the help of volun-
teer clients.

Although prostitution is illegal in India, it is widely toler-
ated, the Times reports, with Calcutta having the biggest share
of the country's biggest sex trade.

According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 Indians were
infected with HIV in the last year - about 6 percent of the es-
timated number of new infections globally (Paul Watson, Los An-
geles Times, Jan. 6).