OSHAKATI – Like in many parts of Africa, sex for cash is easily available, cheap, risky and often illegal. Namibia is not an exception.
For most sex workers, work is often dangerous.
Worse, the nature of their work has placed them at an even greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and infections, rape and outright abuse, physical or otherwise.
Okandjengedi strip between northern towns Oshakati and Ongwediva is the most famous amusement location in the North.
It is a hotspot where bars and nightclubs line up and people frequent to engage in illicit activities.
Sex work is also part of the mix. Sex workers also earn their money here.
New Era recently visited Okandjengedi.
During the visit, it was evident that women parading their bodies at traffic lights and intersections during the night is a common sight for Okandjengedi’s residents and those driving through the location to their different destinations.
Hours before the crack of dawn, our crew was met with a disturbing reality: young girls who were walking the streets of Okandjengedi, whose only commodity is their bodies in exchange for money.
Tales
They shared their stories. Commonalities, including destitution, unemployment, sheer levels of poverty and hopelessness, were among the reasons they advanced for entering the sex industry.
The women, aged between 18 and 30, predominantly from Oshakati and Ongwediva, have turned to prostitution in a bid to make ends meet.
The desperate women said despite the inherent risks that come with sex work, they have no choice but to continue, as it is their only “option out of poverty”.
They also use drugs and other substances containing narcotic effects to find solace and musk their guilt.
*Ndapewa Johannes* is a 27-year-old.
She shared what she goes through daily to put bread on the table.
“I don’t have a job. I always go to Okandjengedi robots at night to sell my body to put food on the table and to buy drugs. It is a shameful job which I feared at first but it’s the only way out of poverty as of now,” said Johannes.
Her circumstances, she says, forced her to parade herself alongside experienced women in the prostitution business while her mom was alive.
Although her late mom never wanted her child to join the sex business, there was little she could do, as Johanness technically became a breadwinner and would use her proceeds to buy food at home.
“I smoke to clean away memories of men I sleep with. I also don’t like my lifestyle sometimes, so I drink myself senseless. Mostly, I use cocaine to make more money because when I am high, I fear nothing. I would make more money,” she said while tears rolled over her cheeks.
Johannes said men select them according to their preference.
They pay them about N$100 per round.
Sometimes, if they encounter clients who prefer more rounds of sex or to spend an entire night, the amount goes up to N$400, she said.
With her eyes full of guilt, although already infected with HIV, Johannes said she insists on having protected sex with the clients.
“Sadly, some men will pay half the agreed amount after intercourse, while some bad clients refuse to pay at all. Some will even beat you up for demanding your dues,” she lamented.
Johannes says if anyone could offer her a job, she would appreciate it, as she is trying her best to quit sex work.
Another encounter was with 24-year-old *Martha Shivute*, who is also a sex worker in Okandjengedi.
The situation at home, including an unemployed mother and younger sibling to provide for, forced her into prostitution, she said.
“She [mother] does not know where I get the money from, and I cannot tell her. It is a shameful job, but someone must do it. I can never advise someone to settle for a job like this. It is terrible,” she said before working away while smoking.
*Sovita Mathew* is a 29-year-old from Oshakati and a mother of three.
She dropped out of school in grade nine.
“I make money from sleeping around. Sometimes it gets dry and I go back home with nothing; it hurts. When I don’t get a customer, my older children pick and sell cans and steel at scrap yards,” Mathew shared her ordeal.
A taxi driver, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he is a regular customer.
“I don’t have a girlfriend. Looking for ladies in bars or elsewhere to sleep with it is very costly and time-wasting. For prostitutes, you will not spend anything and they are straightforward,” the regular client stated candidly.
Another man, who also frequents the area, *Sam Paulus*, said sex workers in Okandjengedi are quite considerate with their rates.
“Some of us are in long-distance relationships, since we don’t want to get another girlfriend, we pick up and that’s it. For as long as we are using protection,” he added.