Brahmanical patriarchy and the politics of anti-trafficking and prostitution governance: from colonial to contemporary India

Abstract

Brahmanical patriarchy alongside the close relation of prostitution with human trafficking continues to mould contemporary anti-trafficking and prostitution governance policies in India. This study examines such relationships and breaks down how brahmanical patriarchy as a caste-driven hierarchy between the genders has shaped the historical and contemporary governance of human trafficking and sexual commerce, its political economy and its consequences for marginalised groups. It underlines how, originating in the colonial period, the components of brahmanical patriarchy advanced the marginalisation of women in sexual commerce by influencing anti-trafficking governance. In addition, it has produced the marginalisation of other communities such as religious minorities and immigrants, in contemporary times. This study suggests that it is the intersection of (colonial and/or current) political-economic interests and socio-cultural hierarchies and controls such as brahmanical patriarchy (as in this case of India) that moulds anti-trafficking and prostitution governance measures, continuing the marginalisation of subalterns such as sex workers, migrants and minorities.