Karachi fast becoming a hub of male prostitution

Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi’s Empress Market is fast becoming a hub for male prostitution.

One can find dozens of male ‘prostitutes’, who mainly are in the age group of 15 to 25 years, waiting for customers in this busy marketplace, but not everyone can identify these men selling ‘unnatural’ sex.

By the manner in which these men communicate with their potential customers, one can hardly make out what they are up to.

Explaining the art of identifying a likely customer, a male prostitute, who didn’t disclose his name, said, "It’s all about making eye contact and the rest is understood.”

Asked how he ended up in this profession, he said he was molested by his schoolteacher at a young age, which changed his whole life.

“I was molested by my schoolteacher when I was 11. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. But gradually I started enjoying it,” he said.

He said that while some men or ‘boys’ are in this trade for money, some work as gigolos only for enjoyment. “Some do it just for fun and don’t accept money,” he said.

“Policemen or guards force us into sex without payment, but rarely, as we avoid going to places where they could be present,” he said.