The one I have heard about is Hera Mandi opposite to Badshahi …mosque right in the heart of Punjab, the bastion of Islam-based Pakistan Ideology( to borrow words from Akbar S. Ahmad)…all societies have contradictions and contrasts, sometimes paradoxical…why is it so…isn’t it because we try to suppress something that is very much part of our natures…? Does morality produce paradoxis?
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It existed when there were no Afghan refugees i.e. before 1980…
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are there a lot of pakthans who live there?
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LastOfTheDinosaurs, are you talking about prostituion in Pakistan or its general existence?
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never visited Lahore but it obviously isn’t a Pashtun city nor HM seems a Pashtun locality, anyhow, let us not make an ethnic war, i damn care if there is any Pashtun for i don’t consider sex a standard of morality or have a pious, glorified image of my people…my point was the contradiction between concept and implementation…
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general with Pakistan as a case example…wonder why should sex be restrained and made a tabu if it is a biological need…all that unrestrained sex could cause are some social and economic implications…linking it to morality than rationality cause contradictions…
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I think its a stark reminder that piety and Human nature are inseprable... Regardless of how religous and pious you are, there are certain aspects of your psyche which are inate.
I dont think this is something to be ashamed of... Sexuality is part of Humanity and life in general...
I think its actually quite profound that the red light district is right behind the Mosque... It just illustrates our dual nature, and accepting it. The fact that the temptation lies so close to the mosque and yet there are those who will choose to pray rather then indulge in their sexual desires is a physical mainfestation of the spiritual struggle that we all face.. The struggle to walk the straight path or be diverted by the temptations and desires... I mean, everytime we choose to pray there, and not indulge in the desires of the flesh, we are coming closer to god..
And finally, the proximity of the red light district to the mosque can also be seen as a manifestation of gods divine plan so to speak... God provides the path to salvation, but the path is strwen with all kinds of desires along the way.. Its the choice between living a "moral" or "ethical" life as opposed to one that isnt, or one that is deemed as less moral... Perhaps a life that is entangled in the constant pursuit of Physical and oher desires.
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The problem with Pakistan is that it tries to repress and hide this reality... If we simply accept the reality for what it is and not try to form this fascade of pseudo Islamic piety all the time, we wouldnt be in so much conflict. Trying to be something your not is far harder then simply accpeting reality and its consequences.
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Sex is not restrained in Pakistan, yes the public display of it is. That's just our culture, very conservative this doesn't mean that the Pakistani crowd is in desperate need of it. Pakistanis are highly spiritual people. The translation of Pakistan's name meaning land of the pure, implies spiritual purity. And one of the pillars of this spiritual purity is sexual purity, which over time, has become a part of the Pakistani sense of national identity.
If you think that being openly sexual in the public means less social implications then you are wrong, just look at the western world and their social delimma - much worst.
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But I've heard that in Europe now even the traditional social structures e.g. family have disintegrated and free-floating individuals become common without any serious social impact as was feared...social relations based on blood-intimacy were a historical need rather than something absolute...
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I don’t know but prostitution definitely exists in Peshawar…
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how Platonic of you! count me as a disciple.
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What is an "ethical’/“moral” life? Is abstinance from sex spirituality?
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There has been a social impact from single parents to kids not knowing their parents, they just have found a equliberium to it. They have just learned to live that way. In Pakistan, if the society remains conservative doesn’t mean we are lacking behind in any aspect of life.
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Again reducing spirituality to abstinance from sex (and alkohalism)…this is common Muslim concept of morality…
And does any such thing exist as spirituality?
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Retaining social structures that are not compatible with material conditions existing now is a sign of backwardness…for progress, there should be greater liberty and individual freedom…traditional family is a curse…must go as soon as possible for the individual to be more free and so more creative…
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Yes it is a Muslim concept of morality and we, as a Muslim country, take pride in experssing it. What is spirituality? Something that concerns religion and its aspects..something that is sacared. Monogamy is one of those aspect of our life and is norm in the vast majority of Pakistan.