“I charge US$3 for protected s-ex for a short time but I would rather take US$50 for unprotected s-ex since the condom can still burst after charging a mere US$3. I would rather take the risk and get more money after all,” said a 21-year-old prostitute plying her trade at Ngundu Growth Point along Beitbridge-Masvingo road in Masvingo province who only identified herself as Sandy.
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She is among the many thigh vendors operating at this ‘strategic’ centre which falls along one of Zimbabwe’s busiest highways.
The highway connects Zimbabwe with South Africa, Zambia, DRC and other countries to the north.
“Business (prostitution) is a bit low these days because we are so many and yet we compete for the same market. One has to find ways or surviving because it is only the fit that can stand this industry. Sometimes you can even lower your rates to even a dollar on a bad business night because you would rather pocket that dollar than go home empty-handed,” said Sandy the prostitute.
File Picture-Hookers bonk a man in public
It’s business all day, 24 hours a day ‘servicing’ s-ex-starved clients at Ngundu as prostitutes troop to the local ‘Sodom and Gommorrah’ business centre from all walks of life to try to entice truckers, who are the majority of the clients, connecting to other neighbouring countries.
“It’s business throughout the day as you can see. I don’t have to wait for the night to serve my customers. Most of these truckers have s-ex as a form of entertainment so we do give them that service, at a price of course,” said one 24-year-old ‘adult entertainment engineer’ who only identified herself as Joice.
She added that she has been in the business of selling s-ex to any willing buyer since she was 15. Meaning for the past 9 solid years, Joice has been a hardcore prostitute. She has after failing to sit for her O-Level exams due to financial challenges.
“I have been in this business for nine years. I wish I had something else to do but I have no option but to sell my body for a living. I left home in Bikita after I couldn’t get money to register for my O-Level exams. Initially, I tried working as a housemaid in Masvingo but after a few months, I met my friend who advised me to try Ngundu for more money,” she said.
Joice said it wasn’t easy for her to penetrate into the already flooded prostitution industry, as she faced a lot of resentment from older and experienced prostitutes who saw her as a threat. Their fears were that she would easily attract most of the truckers due to her age back then.
“I immediately became the favourite of most of the drivers but that created more enemies for me. Some of the girls sent people to attack me and I was hospitalised for two weeks as they accused me of trying to push them out of business. I had to fight for survival and now nobody tells me nonsense. I have since developed a thick skin,” she added.
The 24-year-old prostitute who collects her own lobola on daily basis from any man who ‘samples her’, said she doesn’tknow when and who infected her with HIV but she often has s-ex with other clients who pay for UNPROTECTED S-EX.
“Oh yes, I do have unprotected s-ex. That way I make more money. Unfortunately I don’t care and don’t feel sorry for those that I have infected, because somebody also infected me. I was HIV negative when I came here but its poverty that saw me getting infected. At one time I had a serious s-exually transmitted infection but I continued to have unprotected s-ex. I actually felt relieved during s-ex because the infection was very itchy.
“Hamheno zvavo, ukaona munhu asingatye kurara asina condom ane zvaanoziva, haisi mhosva yangu. (If one opts for unprotected s-ex it means he is willing to face any consequences, I’m not to blame for that),” she argued.
“We have no option but to sell our bodies,” interjected another prostitute who only identified herself as Rina.
“That is the only business we can do here. But many ladies are coming, including school-going children so the competition is very stiff,” she revealed.
The thigh vendors are mainly drawn from various districts in Masvingo province, including Gutu, Zaka, Chiredzi and Bikita while others are from major cities such as Gweru, and the rest of the country.
Most of the pubs at the centre operate 24 hours a day but because of the harsh economic environment, some of the prostitutes have relocated to Lundi, which is about 20 kilometres from Ngundu, as they try ti get away from still competition. “Business is better this side than at Ngundu. Tanga tawandisa paNgundu saka zvanga zvakunetsa manje. (We were so many prostitutes there and it had become a hustle to sell s-ex at Ngundu. Life is now much better since I moved to this area,” said one Jane.
Oblivious of the risk of HIV infections and re-infections, most of the s-ex workers interviewed said they really didn’t care because there were no jobs in Zimbabwe.
“I would still die of hunger if I just go back home. I once tried to look for a job in South Africa but it’s the xenophobic attacks that brought me back home. Gore rino kwakadowoma nekuti kune zhara saka todoshingo kushanda kuti mhuri dzirarame kumusha. (Life is very tough this year because there is hunger, so we have to work hard to look after our families back home),” argued some of the hookers.
Source:MyZim/H-Metro Around Africa , Controversial , Humiliating , off , prostitution , Top Trending
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