Women With Cards

Women with cards; they are called. The legal prostitutes in Senegal. Senegal is the only country in Africa where prostitution is both legal and regulated. It has been so since 1969, when the government tried to fight sexually transmitted diseases by legalizing and regulating it and providing information about protection. To practice prostitution legally the women have to have a health card, that is updated monthly and shows that they are not infected. And they have to be more than 21 years old. The three women, Maya, Nola and Awa are from Guinea. They have come to Senegal to earn money, since the money in Senegal has a higher value in the countries around Senegal. But because of very low salaries and difficulties to find jobs, they have ended up in prostitution. They don´t like it and wish to do something else, but they are happy with their cards. Their cards allow them to do what they have to do to earn their money, and if something happens to them they can go to the police and report it. Even though the prostitution is legal, it is not accepted by the public in this muslim country. Therefore the women hide what they are doing, and tell their families back home that they are earning their money by selling things at local markets.