Flourishing Sex Trade — These Are the Secrets of the Prostitution Network in Khartoum
An investigation by the Alintibaha website revealed the most dangerous practices, corridors, and streets of prostitution in the capital, Khartoum, pointing out that the sex trade has become a dangerous phenomenon that threatens Sudanese society.
According to the report, more than 300 girls are engaging in the world of prostitution in Khartoum through special WhatsApp groups, in which the girls’ descriptions and personal information are shared with those looking for “pleasure.”
The report indicated that the sex workers are also responsible for providing what is known as “the den” or “the airport.”
However, some Sudanese families seem to be involved in this dangerous network; they rent their houses for a sum of money to meet their economic needs.
Behind the Scene
In a corner between the Telecommunications Corporation Tower and Manshia Bridge, a beautiful girl was sitting on a chair with ordinary clothes, as if she was waiting for someone. Yes, she was waiting for her regular customers who knew her well. Each one of them would go and greet her quietly, sit down and start giving her the girl features. With the help of some photos, including students, young, old, married, and separated women—the customer will choose his favorite.
That girl sitting on the chair is one of the most famous and dangerous pimps in Khartoum promoting the prostitution trade, but nobody knows her.
After choosing a female, the customer will be provided with other photos showing her body in detail and a CV with all the other information like age and marital status.
After the final decision, the customer will take the chosen female through “delivery” in a nearby area. He will pay for the girl on the chair, the apartment, and “his girl.”
The working hours of the prostitution market begin in Khartoum on Nile Street specifically, from 5 pm until 9 pm, and the task of pimping ends as soon as the hostage is handed over to the man after being paid. According to Alintibaha, more than 300 women and girls have been abused in prostitution and pimping.
In the past, many streets in Khartoum were famous for prostitution work, to the extent that every girl who passed by those roads, even if she was not involved in this network, would be classified among sex workers.
However, things have changed now as pimps and street girls have no specific area. They are everywhere, not literally, but where rich people, senior employees, and officials work. Not only does prostitution spread, but it also fuels the business of renting furnished apartments.
Families Are Involved
As everything is about to evolve, the prostitution trade in Khartoum has developed its techniques and working conditions as well. In the buildings area, specifically Airport Street, which overlooks some restaurants and vital facilities, women stand on the sidewalk waiting for men to “kidnap” them, knowing exactly where to spend the night.
One of those customers said, according to Alintibaha, that he was shocked when the girl knocked on a door of a family and entered one of the three rooms in the house. The man was terrified, but she reassured him it was a safe way to enter and spend time together as it is difficult for anybody to suspect or question it since it was a family house. The man paid them an amount of 7 thousand pounds (around $12) for one hour’s rent and left with the girl.
Many Sudanese families, despite having children, rent their rooms to sex workers after making a deal with the pimp responsible for the couples or with a group of female students.
According to the website investigation, the housewife prepares everything for the sexual meeting—after putting her children in one room—to provide a good atmosphere.
From providing a room for a few dollars to being personally in the room, this is the expected result for some of those families’ members, especially girls.
Many of them have left their families’ homes and decided to be part of the prostitution world. Alintibaha monitored a number of girls who became prostitutes while some ran their own brothel.
Engaging families in prostitution is “a crime,” leading society toward collapse.
Minors, too
Special information revealed that there are groups managing a number of WhatsApp groups to contact pimps and arrange meetings. There are also groups on Facebook where students are added without asking; it starts with this “add.” Customers can choose one female from the pictures posted on the group to be contacted later for an appointment. But after the meeting, the admin group will send private photos giving further details about the victim’s body.
In 2013, a four-year-old girl was found dead in mysterious circumstances in one of the famous hotels in the center of Khartoum, which was closed after the crime. During the investigation, it was revealed that the mother of the child was exploiting her daughter in prostitution, which led to her death.
A taxi driver told Alintibaha that while he was returning from Omdurman on his way to Khartoum, a woman, accompanied with a 10-year-old girl, stopped him and suggested having some time; when he refused, he was surprised that she “offered” him her child.
The legal expert, Mujahid Othman, believes that the recent period has witnessed an intense spread of prostitution in Khartoum, especially on social media. “I have previously seen a post on Facebook including ‘inappropriate’ pictures of Sudanese girls with their phone numbers,” the expert said.
A prostitution network of 11 members was arrested in al-Fayhaa neighborhood in Hajj Youssef, in addition to 8 members of another prostitution network who the court convicted with two years imprisonment, and it is mentioned that this network is run by two pimps who were tried with four years imprisonment, one of them was a student, according to Mujahid.
The expert pointed out that the absence of public order police and control contributed to the spread of prostitution in Khartoum, not to mention the economic deterioration, which has a major role in the spread of this phenomenon.
