Speaking of the Unspeakable

The Debate on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Colonial Bengal, India

Bibliographic Data

ID11944265
AuthorsNilanjana Ray (0000-0003-4018-8661, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-33
Publication date2026-01-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-6534 • E-ISSN: 1743-9329
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03086534.2026.2619935
OpenAlexW7126370667
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited23

The discourse around prostitution and trafficking in colonial Bengal, India, had revolved around the fulcrum of ‘disease’ and ‘race and gender’. It was a narrative created by the colonial military establishment, the colonial state and the evangelical missionaries. As the ‘woman question’ gained political salience in the nineteenth century, the middle-class ‘reformers’ in Bengal created the ideal image of the Bhadramahila (respectable woman), an image that ousted all those women who led liminal lives to the outskirts of mainstream respectable society. What is glaringly missing in the extant studies on the discourse are the voices of women. It has been assumed that being trained and tutored by the reformist men, their lives and opinions were a mere reflection of the former’s. This article fills this gap by inserting into the discourse the articulation by the middle-class women. Through a critical analysis of women’s magazines in Bengali, this study has uncovered the voices of middle-class educated women in discussing this issue of social concern. The authors were predominantly ordinary housewives who observed and commented upon the world around them. The pages of these magazines reveal how women writers and readers forged a network that discussed ‘women’s issues’ through ‘women’s approaches’.

Colonialism · Government (linguistics · Human trafficking · Sex trafficking · Sex work · Sex work and related issues · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Conflicts

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