Prostitution is legal in Bangladesh but regulated by law. According to the law, only adult women can engage in professional sex work by making a declaration in court, although among the hundreds of thousands of sex workers in Bangladesh, a large number are children. Generally, three types of sex workers are seen in Bangladesh: hotel-based, floating in parks and gardens, and brothel-based. Although several brothels were demolished in the 20th and 21st centuries, in 2020 there were 14 registered brothels in Bangladesh. While professional female sex work is legal, professional male sex work is illegal, though it exists in various places. According to research, there are 200,000 sex workers in Bangladesh, among whom 10,000 to 29,000 are underage.
Naming In Bangladesh, sex workers are also referred to in dictionaries as dehoposharini, nagorbodhu, beshya, rokhkita, khanki, jarini, punshcholi, atitwari, gonika, kulta, baronbonita, kumbhodashi, noti, rupojibi, etc. According to dictionaries, they are also identified by terms such as khanki, "magi", chhinal, chenal, gonika, goneruka, dehopojibini, noti, notini, barangana, barbodhu, barbilasini, patita, beshya, bhrashta, jounokormi, randi, rupopojibini, hattobilasini, etc. Words like beshya, patita, gonika, bondhoki, barangana, khanki, along with others, form around 300 Bengali synonyms for professional sex workers. Since there is freedom to choose one's profession, in modern times, those involved in this profession are not referred to by degrading terms from dictionaries but are instead identified as professional sex workers.
"Those who, due to poverty, deception, coercion, helplessness, and other adverse conditions, engage in sexual activities in exchange for money or gifts — thus becoming involved in a profession that goes against morality" — the government of Bangladesh has identified them as "socially disabled women."
History Sex workers are mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra, written in 300 BCE, where their annual income is stated as 1,000 panas. According to the contemporary work Kamasutra by Vatsyayana, in ancient times, sex work was considered a developed art form. However, although it was a state-recognized profession, it was not always regarded as honorable. According to the Mahabharata, if a sex worker had a good nature, she could be reborn into a higher life in her next birth. This same view is held in Buddhism as well. In ancient times, women's dance performances were also a part of sexual service, and those involved in this profession were called notini, gonika, or nartaki.
In the writings of Jain author Hemachandra, it is said that "King Nanda" was the son of a barber born from the womb of a sex worker. Buddhist texts mention several sex workers, including Amrapali, Salabati, Sama, and Sulama.
In the book Durgapuja Paddhati from the Kalika Purana, Probirkumar Chattopadhyay described that among the ten types of clay used in Durga Puja, the soil from the doorstep of a professional sex worker's house is essential, because sex workers purify society.
At one time, the Bede women of Bangladesh were involved in sex work, although now most of them have converted to Islam. Medieval poet Mukundaram Chakraborty, while listing recognized professions in Bengal, mentioned the shuri (liquor-seller) and the barbonita (sex worker).
Nawabi era The culture of baiji or tawaif in East Bengal first began to spread during the early part of the 17th century, under Subahdar Islam Khan's rule (1608–1613). Those who performed dance and music were called kanchani. The baijis entertained mainly through songs like khayal, thumri, tappa, ghazal, and dances like kathak. According to Satyen Sen, the baijis expressed the emotions of the songs through dance gestures and the expressions of their hands, faces, eyes, noses, and lips. These gatherings were known as mehfil or mujra. In these gatherings, the baijis wore peshwaz, churidar pajama, orhna, and fine ghungroos on their feet. They had their own safardar for managing them, playing instruments, and finding new clients.
Later, during the time of Dhaka's Naib Nazims—Nusrat Jang (1785–1822), Shamsuddaula (1822–1831), and Kamruddaula (1831–1836)—and also during the time of Nawabs of Dhaka—Abdul Ghani (1846–1896) and Khwaja Ahsanullah (1896–1901)—this culture developed further. During this time, many baijis from Kolkata and northern India began settling in Dhaka, and a permanent baiji neighborhood formed in the city. In the 18th century, Ghanaram Chakrabarti gave a long description of the cooking skills of barbonitas in his Dharmamangal poem.
Nineteenth century In the 19th century in East Bengal, especially in riverine cities like Dhaka and Narayanganj, there was a significant presence of professional sex work. According to A Sketch of the Topography and Statistics of Dacca by James Taylor and The Elusive Intrigues: A Transnational Feminist Analysis of European Prostitution in Colonial Bombay by Dr. Ashwini Tambe, after 60% of British soldiers across India contracted venereal diseases, registration of sex workers (regulation system) began in 1864 under the Cantonment Act. According to Taylor, who served as Dhaka's Civil Surgeon from 1835 to 1885, organized sex work existed in Dhaka even in the first part of the 18th century.
Toward the end of the 19th century, some baijis became notable in the social and cultural life of Dhaka. Among them was Supanjan of Dhaka, wife of Sapan Khan, grandson of Mithun Khan, a famous singer and tabla player from Lucknow. In Nawab Ghani's court, performers like Piyari Bai, Hira Bai, and Wamu Bai regularly entertained. Other famous baijis in Dhaka included Batani, Jamurad, Panna, Himani, Amirjan, Rajlakshmi, Kani, and Absan. Additionally, occasionally baijis from Kolkata such as Malkajan Bulbuli, Malkajan Agarwali, Janaki Bai, Gauharjan, Jaddan Bai, and Harimoti came to Dhaka.
In the 1870s, at the garden house of Shahbagh in Dhaka, invited by Nawab Ghani, baiji Mushtari Bai sang and enchanted famous Urdu literary figures like Abdul Gafur Khan and Abdul Ghaffar Naskan. In Kolkata, her songs captivated Raichand Boral, Krishnachandra Dey, and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Rabindranath Tagore was also mesmerized when he heard her song on the radio.
During the Jhulan festival of the Hindu community, wealthy merchants regularly held mehfil events at their homes. From 1875, when Abdul Ghani received the title of Nawab, until the end of the 19th century, singers and dancers used to perform in Shahbagh's Nawabi palace every January. They were paid monthly salaries from the Nawab Estate.
In Dhaka Panchash Baras Pehle, Hakim Habibur Rahman mentioned three sisters—Annu, Gannu, and Nawabin—among whom Nawabin was the youngest and most famous. These three sisters were also involved in theater performances in Dhaka in the 1880s. In that same decade, Hakim Habibur Rahman described the tragic fate of another baiji in Shahbagh, named Elahijan.
20th century After the Partition of Bengal in 1905, several buildings in Dhaka, the capital of East Bengal, including Ishrat Manzil in Shahbagh, were built for entertainment purposes, which included arrangements for Baiji dance. Regular mujra performances were held at the Rangmahal of Ahsan Manzil, Ishrat Manzil, and the garden house of Dilkusha. Later, Nawab Salimullah selected the Ishrat Manzil building as the venue for the All India Muslim Education Conference on 14 and 15 April 1906. On 30 December 1906, the All India Muslim League was founded in this very building. Later, it was renovated and turned into the first international hotel in Dhaka. Currently, the building is part of Bangladesh Medical University, which was once known as the Institute of Postgraduate Medicine and Research (commonly known to the public as PG Hospital).
Among the Baijis who came to perform mujra in Dhaka, notable ones included Malka Jaan (a multilingual musical genius who composed 106 ghazals), Gauhar Jaan (Malka Jaan's daughter, who started the trend of changing clothes between dance performances and heavily influenced Kolkata fashion), Noorjahan, Siddheshwari, Janki Bai (Chhappan Chhuri), Jaddan Bai (disciple of Malka Jaan and mother of Indian film actress Nargis), Kohinoor, and Indubala. Among them, Gauhar Jaan (1873–1929) was the first artist in the Indian subcontinent to record her voice on a gramophone. Harimati became popular in the 1930s and 1940s by singing Nazrul Geeti on gramophone records. Another Baiji, Devi Bai, acted in Dhaka's first silent film, The Last Kiss (1931).
In the early 19th century, the patronage of the wealthy and the zamindar class turned the Baiji profession into a profitable one. According to the Dhaka Prakash newspaper published on 22 November 1903, a dancer's infant's rice-feeding ceremony cost 25,000 taka, at a time when one maund (approx. 37 kg) of rice cost only four taka. In 1874, when Nawab Abdul Ghani called for contributions to establish a clean water supply in Dhaka, Baijis Rajlakshmi and Amirjan were the first to respond, donating 500 taka each. Although Baijis often enjoyed financial stability and high social positions, they regularly faced obstacles in terms of social recognition and forming family relationships. Noorjahan, the most renowned Baiji of the royal court of the Maharaja of Tripura, retired at the age of 40–42 and lived on land given by the Maharaja in the village of Majhigachha, Comilla. Though she built a mosque there, the local Muslims have refused to pray in the "prostitute's mosque" to this day.
In his book Abidyar Antopur: Nishiddho Palli'r Antorongo Kathokota, Dr. Abul Ahsan Chowdhury described that the writer Mir Mosharraf Hossain mentioned visiting brothels in his diary. The mystic poet Hasan Raja and novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay used to visit red-light areas regularly. Sex worker Sukumari Dutta captivated Jyotirindranath Tagore. Sukumari Dutta, the first female playwright in Bengali literature and the first female actress, was one of the four women performers of Bengal Theatre. Her stage name was Golap Sundari. The other three were Jagattarini, Elokeshi, and Shyama. All of them were sex workers by profession. Later, she performed under the name Sukumari in the Great National Theatre and the Emerald Theatre.
Policy and law Prostitution is legal in Bangladesh under the law, but it is regulated. Bangladesh is one of the few Muslim-majority countries in the world where prostitution is legal for women aged 18 or older. However, the Constitution of Bangladesh shows a clear opposition to professional sex work. In Part II, Article 18 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, it is stated, "The State shall adopt effective measures to prevent prostitution and gambling."
Although the Constitution calls for discouragement of prostitution and taking effective steps to end the profession, the law allows any woman aged 18 or older to choose sex work as a profession by declaring it in court. Bangladesh is one of the few countries in the world where professional sex work is both legal and illegal at the same time.
In 1999, in response to eviction attempts against the Tanbazar and Nimtoli brothels, 100 sex workers filed a writ petition in the High Court with the support of the Bangladesh Human Rights Implementation Organization. In its 2000 verdict, the court declared professional sex work as legal. The judgment stated that if a female sex worker is under 18 and can prove that sex work is her only source of income, then she can legally participate in the profession. The judgment also stated that the government's initiative to evict the brothels was illegal.