Why did the first global anti-trafficking laws come about? What’s India got to do with it? Episode 1 will track discourses around prostitution in colonial India that eventually leads to the United Nations’ first anti-trafficking convention passed in 1949.
Warning: sexual content, other adult themes. Listener discretion is advised.
Credits:
Host: Surabhi Chatterjee
Audio production: Pruthu Parab
Cover Art: Rini Alphonsa Joseph
Music: The intro music is Wake up, Max by Axel Lundström. Music for the episode (YouTube audio library and other royalty-free music libraries) include: Sinister – Anno Domini Beats; Tarana in Raag Nat Bhairav – Sandeep Das, Anisha Roy; Tabla Compositions in Teentaal – Sandeep Das; Calm Calm – TrackTribe; Kirwani Teental – Aditya Verma; Never Play – Jeremy Blake; On the Island – Godmode; FynestLyk – Noir Et Blac View; Dance of the Gypsies – Hanu Dixit
Sources:
Devdutt Patnaik, “Donation of Courtesans”;
Gayatri Chatterjee. “The veshya, the ganika and the tawaif: Representations of prostitutes and courtesans in ..” in ‘Prostitution and Beyond: An Analysis of Sex work in India’ by Rohini Sahni, et al;
Rekha Pande. “Ritualized prostitution..” in ‘Prostitution and Beyond’;
Further reading: Shreya Ila Anasuya, “India has often appropriated, seldom appreciated its courtesan culture”; Davesh Soneji, “Unfinished Gestures” (on the Devdaasi tradition);
Willian Dalrymple and Anita Anand, “Empire” (Season 1); Lata Singh.“Modern Theatre as epitome of middle class civilized culture: Scripting of stage actresses as ‘prostitutes’ and ‘fallen women” in ‘Prostitution and Beyond’; Aranyani Bhargav“Caste dynamics in classic dance: History vs Narratives” ; Further reading: Soumya Rao. “Mughal-era courtesans are the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle”.
Ashwini Tambe. "The Elusive Ingenue: A transnational Feminist Analysis of European Prostitution in Colonial Bombay"; Mridula Ramanna. “Control and Resistance: The Working of the Contagious Diseases Act in Bombay City”;Farida Begum. “The creation of difference empire, race, and the discourse on prostitution in colonial Bengal”
Juno Mac and Molly Smith. “Revolting Prostitutes..”;Laura Lammasniemi. “Anti-White Slavery Legislation and its Legacies in England”; Jo Doezema. “Loose Women or Lost Women:..";Joanne Mcneil. "The ‘White Slavery’ Panic"
clarification: UN was set up in 1945

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1. Origins of international anti-trafficking laws