AN MDC-T legislator has vowed to continue pushing for the legalisation of prostitution and the inclusion of the "pleasure engineers'" rights in the country’s constitution.
Thabitha Khumalo, the MDC-T Member of Parliament for Bulawayo East, last week signed a petition calling for the decriminalization of the world’s oldest profession at an event said to have been attended by scores of working girls from the city.
“It (prostitution) is here to stay and we need to bite the bullet. Pleasure engineering did not begin in Bulawayo or Zimbabwe. It all began in the Garden of Eden and one of those pleasure engineers was Eve,” Khumalo told guest at the event.
“Who in their right mind will deny it? We will have to embrace it, whether we like it or not.”
Khumalo threatened to expose colleagues using the services of prostitutes if her campaign is not supported in Parliament.
“Every time I get a chance to speak in Parliament I will speak of the decriminalisation of prostitution,” she said.
“If the calls are not heard then we will name and shame some ministers and other officials who have sought the services of pleasure engineers,” she said.
Meanwhile working girls who attended the event organized by the Sexual Rights Centre blasted police for demanding free sex.
“They (police) love free rides because they carry guns and handcuffs. They take us to dark corners and take away our dignity and hard earned money,” one of the girls said.
“Health workers too should stop discriminating us. As sex workers we should have labour rights.”