In the heart of Bulawayo's
central business district, a group of young women lurk below the giant
jacaranda trees that shut out the street lights, daubing their faces with
makeup and adjusting their short skirts.
It is
just 7 p.m., businesses have closed, and what remains of nightlife in
Zimbabwe's second city begins to stir, including prostitution - illegal, risky
because of the high rates of HIV/AIDS, but still a draw for young women facing
high unemployment.
Susan,
in her early 20s, is selling sex on the street and in nearby bars. Declining to
give her full name, she says she doesn't use a condom, despite the risk of
infection, because she earns more from unprotected sex.
"Every
girl I know here is doing it, no need to lie about it," she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation, wearing a strong deodorant and assuming an air of
sophistication.
Susan
is one of ... read moresource: Thompson Reuters Foundation
