eMalahleni’s silent sex workers speak

Her online advertisement reads:

“Hi, I am Miss X and I sell my (derogative term for female genitalia) and photos from Witbank. I travel and host. I am not here for a relationship.”

Her WhatsApp profile photo is a quote that, when translated from Afrikaans, reads;

“Just to wake up every morning and to say with joy; ‘thank you Lord for all of the love and mercy. Everything that You have done for me serves to remind me of one thing: You are God and You are Almighty and there is no other King!’”

Miss X, a young woman who has chosen to stay anonymous, is one of eMalahleni’s many sex workers.

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She is a young, intelligent, Christian, Afrikaans woman, and says she has been selling her services since she was 16 years old. “My parents died when I was 16, and I had to survive somehow. I was too young to get a ‘proper’ job. I’ve never had a different job, I’ve just always been a prostitute,” Miss X explained.

“I love it in the same way that you love your job. It’s my job and I don’t want to do anything else. Most of my clients are white men between the ages of 45 and 65. They always treat me well, and I’ve never been abused or treated badly by one of them,”

Miss X stated.

Miss X was 16 when she turned to prostitution.

“I do believe that prostitution should be legalised in South Africa. Every woman has the right to decide what she wants to do with her body; even if what she chooses is prostitution,” said Miss X.

When asked how much she earns, Miss X replied coolly,

“I make about R35 000 a month if it’s been a slow month.”