This year’s May Day celebration was incomplete until-Lagos based sex workers joined in the annual procession clearly indicating that what they wanted was equal rights rather than rescue. They came dressed in grey tops, jeans and carried purple umbrellas and quickly became the centre of the gathering at the Agege Stadium in Lagos.
The group, whose banner read, “Sex workers need rights, not rescue”, declared they were part of the Ohotu Diamond Women Initiative.
Perhaps informed from their boldness and desire to be heard, no one dared harass them as they stayed through the event and left when everyone departed.
It is no secret that sex workers have felt the ire of the society enduring harassment and arrest from the police. A recent case in point is their counterparts in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, who have been fighting to be heard. Recently arrested and allegedly molested in capital city following a raid by officers of the Nigerian Police, this action in Lagos may be what they need to see their battle to a logical conclusion.