Wonders of the world will never cease as Brazilian prostitutes and a Christian evangelical group from the United States of America teamed up to play a football match dubbed The ‘naked match’ , played right after the Colombians beat Greece 3-0 on Saturday in a central street in Belo Horizonte, to raise awareness concerning sex workers’ rights.
The two worlds of contrasting heavenly and worldly faith saw the Brazilian prostitutes, decide to join the football fever by organizing an impromptu match to draw attention to sex workers’ rights.
The prostitutes called themselves the Naked Football Club, teamed up with the Christians and played against a local university team in the Brazilian world cup host city in a bid to add more sexual spices to the already colorful plate of football.
The impromptu match organized by Prostitutes’ Association of Minas Gerais, had the players use traffic cones for goalposts, and wore green and yellow Brazilian uniforms.
“Rights must be the same for everyone. We are not different from anyone else just because we’re sex workers,” defender Patricia Bonges told journalists. “We are finally breaking that prejudice and stigma.”
The American girls from the evangelical group also enjoyed the game and called not to forget about sex workers’ rights in a context seen by many as that which could trigger mixed feelings and reactions from the church and human rights activists groups in regards to issues of Christianity, Godliness and human rights among different individuals existing in society protected by certain rules.
“You just love people, you don’t judge, you don’t change people, you just love them,” said Jenny Jack from the Christian group.
Brazilian prostitutes have long complained about humiliation and violations of their rights. They also were urging authorities to treat the ‘world’s oldest profession’ like any other in a country popularly known also for their Christian faith in the Catholic Church.
The Prostitutes’ Association of Minas Gerais also launched a campaign in 2013 which offered free English classes to approximately 80,000 sex workers so that ‘naked Brazilian samba girls’ could be better prepared for the World Cup 2014.
“It will be important for the girls who will be able to use English to let their clients know what they are charging and learn about what turns them on,” said Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes.
Prostitution is legal in Brazil; however, it’s illegal to operate a brothel or to employ prostitutes in any other way.
The big question is, is this an act of the government to create employment opportunities and also capitalize on the huge profits from the world cup?
Author: Shadrack Andenga Odinga