Lubna Tayyab

Lubna Tayyab is offering young Pakistani women a means of escaping the seemingly hopeless cycle of prostitution by providing them access to jobs, education, and health care. By helping prostitutes develop useful life skills and engage in mainstream society, Lubna is enabling them to take control of their futures and improve their neighborhood.

Such a strong taboo exists against prostitution in Pakistan that there are almost no options for sex workers wanting to change their lives. Lubna is improving this deplorable situation, mindful of the limitations of working in a social environment that includes religious extremists and mafia bosses with strong links to the State. Lubna is moving ahead step by step to organize residents and gradually introduce social services in the area.
With each new success, Lubna is gaining residents’ confidence and empowering them toward sustainability. In addition to providing health services and peer counseling, Lubna is tapping into the existing talents of lower castes women, specifically in the performing arts area. Lubna is establishing an academy specializing in music, dance, singing, and acting to teach poor girls and sex workers how to pursue alternate employment options. And, by bringing the existing scattered training opportunities all under one roof, she hopes to rejuvenate the deteriorated red light district into a vibrant cultural center.
Lubna has high hopes for the center, which she sees as essential to breaking the barriers between mainstream society and residents of the red light district. Key to its success is that society participates in rectifying the prostitution problem—which has long been ignored. Thus, Lubna is working nationally and internationally to mobilize human rights organizations and donor funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, health services, youth education, and recognition of residents’ specific needs.

Most problems Lubna faces in the red light district are a direct result of Pakistani poverty—up from 20 percent in the late 1980s to more than 30 percent in 2000. Rural poverty in particular forces families to migrate to cities and towns, where many girls—typically held in lower esteem—must work as domestic servants. They are the luckier ones; other girls are sold or forced into prostitution and many end up in Lahore’s red light district, the country’s largest prostitution market. They quickly are ensnared in a vicious cycle, living in brothels where they must raise their children within the taboo and illegal world of sex trade, completely abandoned by society.
The poor have not always had such a depressing existence in Pakistan. Traditionally, lower-caste families were paid performers in society and have served the elite for centuries. During celebratory festivals and sorrowful events alike, they were called upon to play music, sing, dance, and mourn. Long ago, many tribes of this caste settled on the outskirts of towns. Talented performers among them were invited to perform for the court and thus gained certain professional respect. When Lahore became the country’s film industry center, much of it had to do with the availability of these talented performers in the walled city area.
But in the mid-eighties, everything changed. Pakistan’s military government banned theater, singing, and dancing entirely, alleging that performing was un-Islamic. Police cracked down on the areas where performers lived; anyone with connections escaped to more upscale communities. With this migration of the upper class, what is today the red light district fell into disrepair. Though its own policies helped create the blighted zone, the government has turned a blind eye to infrastructure problems and serious health hazards. Of the remaining poor, many women were forced to work as so-called “penny prostitutes,” turning tricks for pocket change in order to survive. As prostitutes, they suffer all types of environmental, psychological, and social abuses, and are beaten if they attempt to protest their situation.
Lubna was shocked by the amount of health problems the girls suffer—not least of which is the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. She found that the girls have no access to medical treatment, even for common diseases. Their children lack access to vaccinations and most do not attend school. The girls themselves cannot afford to learn other trades, and so are trapped in the dark world of sex work.

Within the red light district, there is deep mistrust of outsiders and residents often pay protection money to stay safe. So, rather than introducing drastic new ideas from the outside, Lubna knew she had to identify solutions based on the red light district’s real needs. She established a program called SHEED, which stands for “Strengthening Health Education Environment Development Society.” Her goal is to improve living conditions in the area and bring national attention to the rights of its residents, first and foremost as human beings and citizens.
It wasn’t an easy start: Lubna smartly began her intervention by working with investigative journalists to expose that under the allure associated with prostitution there lies an ugly world of exploitation, disease, and poverty. She even coauthored a book on the plight of area residents. But while the published stories brought positive recognition for the reporters, Lubna herself sustained a vicious backlash in 1998. She then formed SHEED in order to protect herself and her family.
Working from the SHEED platform, Lubna tackled the horrific health problems she saw in the red light district. She got training in health work and safe sex, becoming a peer counselor to girl prostitutes and training other women to counsel as well. Propelled by some success, she then approached the international donor community with proposals for improving health and environmental conditions in the area. She made a strong case for education as a means to sustain her efforts and mobilized donor funding for HIV/AIDS prevention. Riding the momentum, Lubna established a medical service with a female doctor to treat diseases common to prostitution. Having a woman doctor has generated confidence among the women and encouraged them to practice safe sex practices and to insist their client to do so as well.
As she witnessed how direct peer counseling increased the use of health services among prostitutes, Lubna realized she could apply the same strategy in a number of areas. She first convinced mothers that a school would benefit their children, who were previously left to roam the streets. She believes increasing youth literacy will have a ripple effect on illiterate mothers. In addition, Lubna realized that the cultural traditions of the area meant that many girls had some talent in dancing, singing, and acting. Many already worked in the film industry and performed on stage or at private parties. These girls earned more from such activities and were able to establish an identity as a performer, instead of a prostitute. She also discovered that many girls wanted to learn performing arts but couldn’t afford lessons.
This situation inspired Lubna to work out the economics of holding classes. She decided that she could provide music, dance, and singing lessons at an affordable cost to groups of twenty girls at a time. She sees the movement as part of a cultural revival of the red light district, an effort to reclaim the area for legitimate performers and nightlife, rather than a haven for sex workers and their clients. She hopes that fancy restaurants opening up will illuminate the area and revive its culture and history. She is now working on raising funds to start the academy and has already identified masters and trainers.

Lubna grew up in the red light district. One of the lucky ones, she was able to attend high school—but suffered classmates’ prejudice once they found out where she and her siblings lived. Confused and hurt, Lubna eventually gave up on school after being beaten up on several occasions. Her mother pressured her to learn to sing and dance, and she reluctantly attended classes. At the age of 16 she was married to an elderly man who visited her once a month. She had two children by him. Suddenly, after three years of marriage, the man decided to divorce her and left her to fend for herself. Lubna took up embroidery work but it paid very little, so she made a living by singing at evening events.
One night while performing, she met her present husband, Tayyab. When Tayyab proposed to her she informed him that she wanted to help prostitutes improve their lives. Determined to find her work, Lubna got a job as a health worker and learned peer-to-peer communication skills. She surveyed the girls about their practices and motivated them to demand safer sex practices. Local residents advised her to work on her own rather than for others—so she decided to form SHEED, which she operates out of her home with the support of her husband.