How prostitutes live and work in a 200-year-old brothel in Bangladesh

German photographer Sandra Heun is an independent photojournalist and often works with NGOs and charitable organizations. The object of her attention is social problems and issues of humanitarian law. In 2016, Sandra became a finalist of the LensCulture Portrait Awards with the photo project "Desires of Others".

Source: lensculture.Sombangladesh is one of the few Muslim countries where prostitution is legalized.

The Kandapara brothel in Tangail is the oldest and second largest institution among all those offering sex for money in Bangladesh. It has been in existence for 200 years. In 2014, it was demolished, but then rebuilt again at the expense of local non-profit organizations.

It was not the adherents of paid love who advocated the restoration of the brothel. Many of the women who worked at Kandapar were born and raised there, and after the brothel was demolished, they had absolutely nowhere to go. Moreover, most locals are sure that working in the field of sex services is just as acceptable as other work in the service sector. In 2014, even the National Association of Women Lawyers advocated for the restoration of the brothel. Members of the association convinced the Supreme Court that the demolition of the building and the eviction of sex workers is illegal.

Today, the area around the brothel is surrounded by a two-meter wall. There are food stalls and tea houses on site. They have their own laws and a completely different hierarchy.

Kajol, 17 years old.

In a brothel, a woman is weak, but at the same time she is stronger than the "free" women of Bangladesh. The hardest time is considered to be when the worker just gets into the brothel. Such girls are called "bonded", all of them are no more than 14 years old. They come from poor families or are sold to a brothel by slavers. "Bonded girls" have no rights, obey the local "madam" and are doomed to work for free for the next 5 years, paying off debts. After the girl gets rid of her debts, she is free to refuse clients or leave the brothel altogether. However, only a few are leaving. Society is reluctant to accept girls with such "work experience" into its ranks, so most often, once in a brothel, a girl stays there for life.

Many women admit that working in a brothel gives them much more rights and freedom than staying at home. They run away from cruel husbands and poverty here. Officially, only girls who have reached the age of 18 can work in the field of selling love, but this rule does not always work.

Their clients are policemen, politicians, farmers, ordinary workers and even teenagers. Some are looking only for sex, others come to a brothel, needing love and female attention. Many people really just drink tea or strong drinks with women.

Kajol with a client. She thinks she's 17, but she doesn't know the exact age. She was married for 9 years, and then her aunt sold her to a brothel. Six months ago, Kajol gave birth to a son — then she had to return to work two weeks after giving birth.

The client tries to kiss the 19-year-old Priya on the cheek. Priya has been working at Kandapar since she was 17.

Asma is 14 years old, she was born in a brothel. I started working as a prostitute only this year, before that the girl just danced for clients.

This woman lost her parents while still a child. She got married as a girl. Together with her husband, they got hooked on heroin and later went to prison for it. The woman said that prison is the best place she has been in her whole life, because no one beat her there. After her incarceration, one of her cellmates took her to "Kandapara".

These twins are only five days old, and they have not been given names yet. Their mother, 20-year-old Zhinik, also works at Kandapar.

15-year-old Paki with a client. She has been living in a brothel since she was 14. At 12, the girl got married, but soon ran away from her abusive husband. Then a man picked her up on the street and sold her to Candapara.

Deepa is 26 years old. In the photo, a woman is crying. She is now two months pregnant. The father of the child is one of Deepa's clients.

19-year-old Mime takes a shower.

Megla is 23 years old, in the picture she is with a client. At the age of 12, she started working in a garment factory. There she met a man who promised her a good job with a high salary. It was he who later sold Megla to a brothel.