Everything’s going from bad to worse here. Last week Aunt Jacinta died, and on Saturday, after we buried her and the sadness began to fade away, it started raining like crazy. (…)
Source: Rulfo, Juan “It’s Because We’re so Poor.” Translated from the Spanish by Ilan Stavans. Agni, 01 July 2010.
Available at [🔗].
current affairs
In The Guardian article “Germany rethinks its liberal ways on sex workers,” Philip Oltermann is critical of the German approach of legalising prostitution to protect sex workers.
links
Philip Oltermann “Germany rethinks its liberal ways on sex workers.” Guardian, 30 November 2013. [🔗]
questions
1. The story is told in a very matter-of-factly manner. Why do you think that the author strikes this tone in discussing what will become of Tacha?
2. Tacha’s fate is precarious. Whether the calf has died is entirely a matter of luck at this point—dependent on whether he did or did not follow the mother. And if the calf has died, Tacha’s fate seems to be inescapable. And yet, at the same time, the narrator does hold Tacha’s sisters to be morally responsible for their choices. Is there a tension here?
3. Does the fact that women are often forced into prostitution by poverty affect the morality of prostitution? There are many other risky and undesirable professions that people choose to escape the poverty trap. Does this affect the morality of benefitting from the services that these professions cater to? Or is there a difference that makes prostitution more objectionable?
4. A motivation for the legalisation of prostitution in Germany in 2002 is that it provides a legal framework within which one can protect women from trafficking and from being coerced. Following the Guardian article “Germany Rethinks its Liberal Ways on Sex Workers,” has this approach been successful? What is the legislation in Sweden like? Do you think that the Swedish or the German approach is a more reasonable way to handle prostitution?