To Live Freely in This World: Sex Worker Activism in Africa PDF
Preview To Live Freely in This World: Sex Worker Activism in Africa
To Live Freely in This World This page intentionally left blank To Live Freely in This World Sex Worker Activism in Africa Chi Adanna Mgbako NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress.org © 2016 by New York University All rights reserved References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. ISBN: 978-1-4798-1756-6 (hardback) ISBN: 978-1-4798-4906-2 (paperback) For Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data, please contact the Library of Congress. New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppli- ers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Also available as an ebook For my beautiful parents, Iyom Enyikwoku Deborah Mgbako and Eze Iddi Dr. Ambrose Mgbako This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xiii Introduction: “We Have Voices” 1 1 “Our House’s Foundation”: Understanding Sex Work in Africa 19 2 “In a Dark Place There’s No Light”: Criminalization and Human Rights Abuses against African Sex Workers 49 3 Out of the Shadows: Multiple Stigmas against African Transgender, Queer, Migrant, and HIV-Positive Sex Workers 67 4 “Each Other’s Keepers”: The Birth of Sex Worker Organizing in Africa 87 5 Solidarity Is Beautiful: Intersectionality of Sex Worker, Feminist, HIV, LGBT, and Social Justice Organizing 114 6 Watering the Soil: Key Organizing Strategies and Law Reform 136 7 “Hearts Strong Like Storms”: Confronting Anti-Prostitution Activists, Religious Opposition, and Political Whorephobia 161 Epilogue: Africa and the Global Sex Workers’ Rights Movement 183 Notes 197 Selected Bibliography 227 Index 235 About the Author 245 vii This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Researching and writing this book was a powerful personal and pro- fessional experience, and many people graciously and enthusiastically helped me bring it to life. My warmest thanks, and most profound debt, go first and foremost to the sex workers in Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda who created a space for me in their communities, believed in the importance of this project, and graced it with their par- ticipation. They have granted me the enormous privilege of document- ing and illuminating their stories. They are the soul of this book, and I hope it will always stand as a testament to their inspiring activism. This project would not have taken flight without the expert and dedi- cated assistance of those who helped facilitate my fieldwork. Tosh Le- goreng in Botswana, John Mathenge and Phelister Abdalla in Kenya, Marlene Ladine in Mauritius, Felicita Hikuam in Namibia, Pat Abraham in Nigeria, Kholi Buthelezi in South Africa, and Daisy Nakato in Uganda were my entry points to a whole universe of wonderful activists and organizations. They have my profound respect and unfailing gratitude. Elizabeth Gyori and Nimrah Najeeb provided consistently excellent research assistance and cheered me on throughout the entire writing and editing process. Katy Glenn Bass graciously provided meticulous feedback on draft chapters as I wrote them. I will forever be thankful for Elizabeth, Nimrah, and Katy’s generous editorial and emotional sup- port, which propelled me forward with confidence as I embarked on the sometimes daunting and always thrilling task of writing my first book. I am extraordinarily grateful to the scholars and advocates—all of whom do urgent, purposeful, and inspiring work—who read and com- mented on the manuscript in whole or in part. Aziza Ahmed, who has generously supported this project from its early stages, gave the entire manuscript a thorough and wise reading. Lori Adorable provided won- derfully rich and incisive feedback on many chapters. Melinda Cha- ix x | Acknowledgments teauvert, Clare Huntington, and Sienna Baskin offered probing and thoughtful insights, and Darby Hickey graciously reviewed several chapters. Thanks are also due to David Henry Sterry, Hakima Abbas, Jennifer Gordon, and Matthew Greenall, who provided astute suggestions on the proposal; Gideon Engelbrecht for his beautiful digital artwork; and the global community of sex workers and allies on Twitter, who are an end- less well of information, insight, and inspiration. I am thrilled that this book found its home at NYU Press, and I thank my editor, Clara Platter, for enthusiastically embracing this project. I am also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable and provocative insights that enriched the final manuscript. For almost a decade, I have had the sheer good fortune of making the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School my professional home. It has been one of the great gifts of my life. My deepest thanks to Jim Leitner and Tracy Higgins for their friendship and support for the work of the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic, which I have had the honor of directing since its founding and where the seeds of this book were first planted. Jim and Tracy’s astonish- ing generosity has played a defining role in my professional growth and enduring happiness—I will never be able to thank them enough. Thanks to my cherished friends and colleagues, Jeanmarie Fenrich and Paolo Galizzi, for their unwavering personal and professional support. I am also grateful to Rita Astoor for the helpful research she always delivered with characteristic good cheer, and to Martin Flaherty and Liz Wickeri for their encouragement. At Fordham Law School, I am enormously grateful to Sheila Foster, who granted me the sabbatical that allowed me the time, space, and free- dom to write this book. Fordham also provided the research funding that made much of the fieldwork possible. I also thank my Fordham col- leagues for their useful comments on the proposal at an early workshop for this project. Over the years, many Fordham students and alumni contributed to this book by conducting research, transcribing audio in- terviews, and assisting me in the field. I send my gratitude to all of them, with extra-special thanks to Beth Gavin, Nita Narayan, Rebecca Marlin, Scarlett Carmago, Grace Lee, Sungin Jung, Katie Waizer, Justin Brown, and Tessa Juste.
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