In both cases, groups are forming in
societies that generally restrict independent social mobilization of any kind; both are also traditionally patriarchal
social and economic systems that bind female and male sex workers in codes of shame
and silence – a silence which, these groups say, permits financial and physical
violence against sex workers to persist unchecked. International funding and
pressure to develop the AIDS response in both countries, combined with pressure from within, seems to have slightly
increased the space for this kind of activism.

In Wuhan, sex workers organized a protest
to call for legalization of sex work and for August 3rd to be marked
as “Sex Workers’ Day.” The group issued statements and photographs
through AIDS e-mail lists to alert other activists to their actions. They
carried red umbrellas in a peaceful march on the streets of Wuhan, a visible
symbol of their solidarity with the global Network of Sex Work Projects, which just
weeks earlier carried red umbrellas during some of their protests at the
International AIDS Conference in Vienna. The most visible face of the Wuhan
action, Ye Haiyan, was briefly detained and then released by police.

Learning of the protest through posts
by several groups (including ours) on an Asian sex workers’ e-mail list, the
New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective then organized a small solidarity protest
at the Chinese embassy in Wellington, NZ. In a message posted to the
Asia-Pacific sex workers’ list, Calum Bennachie of the NZPC described the
protest:

“We showed the police the signs and
the NSWP umbrella, which they thought looked really good.  They mostly sat
in their car after that, but were ready just in case someone started causing us
trouble.  We explained what it was about, and they wished us luck.”

After Ye Haiyan’s release on August 6,
other Chinese organizations issued their own calls on e-mail lists for
legalization of sex work. Aizhixing Institute called for signatures to support
legalization. Xin’Ai Female Sex Worker’s Home in Tianjin published an email
statement describing their outreach programs and describing some of the
problems faced by “the sisters” (姐妹们) in their work, including violence by
pimps, extortion of bribes and mandatory “New Year’s gifts” by local police.
She also described the financial hardships faced by sex workers, many of whom
are older women and rural women with families to support.

Meanwhile, sex workers in bordering
Myanmar/Burma report that they have successfully organized a national network
of hundreds of sex workers. Andrew Hunter, who circulated a video on behalf of
producer Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers, “This film shows that even in the
most difficult circumstances it is possible for sex workers to organize, run
programs and fight for their rights.” Sex workers in the film, who appear with
their faces unmasked, also share concerns about access to AIDS treatment and
experiences of police abuse. The video is available at https://sexworkerspresent.blip.tv/file/3977331/.

In both China and Myanmar, civil
society has operated under numerous restrictions, many topics remain “too
sensitive” or taboo, and power remains in the tight control of hierarchical
systems. But sex workers appear to be “coming out” in the public eye
dramatically in both places, claiming their right to exist and to work,
decrying economic hardships, the culture of shame, abuses by police, and sharing
the personal challenges they have faced. This activism online and on the street
indirectly questions both the traditional relationships between police and
civilians and between men and women.

At the same time, these recent actions
show the lightning speed with which grassroots groups can inspire one another
across the region through online connections. While political and economic power
may be in the hands of hierarchical bureaucracies in both countries, e-mail is
elusive, quick, flexible, and non-hierarchical – just like these grassroots
movements.

Sara L.M. Davis, Ph.D.(aka Meg) is the executive director of Asia Catalyst.