Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, which was once a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage destination is rapidly turning into a haven for prostitution due to China’s ongoing drive to develop and modernize the Tibetan region. The flesh trade is getting piled up in a sophisticated way eluding the curious eyes of the outside world. The so-called hair salons and bars during day time turns into brothels at night. The age of women working in the flesh trades are mostly between 16 to 40 years, though some are even younger. Due to lack of education opportunities and professional skills, they opt for flesh trade hoping that the money would secure a better life in future. The prostitutes consist of both Chinese and Tibetan women in the brothels, but Chinese were paid more than Tibetan prostitute.
The reason for the rise of this trade can be attributed to China’s modernization drive, presence of a large military contingent in Lhasa living without families and development projects like railway between Golmud and Lhasa which has brought in large number of Chinese settlers to Tibet.
