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updated 21 May 2013, 16:35
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Wed, 07 Nov 2012
The New Paper
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Female activist has sex with men for free
by Maureen Koh

My plan as a 'prostitute'

How far - or how low - would you go to push your cause?

One woman went further than most for what she passionately believes in - she became a "prostitute" to highlight the plight of sex workers and the issue of safe sex.

It's not about courage, insists Chinese activist and blogger Ye Haiyan in a phone interview with The New Paper on Sunday from her Yulin office in Guangxi province. It's about speaking out about what's right.

Ms Ye, 37, a divorcee with a teenage daughter, declares: "I must be the first person who dares to openly acknowledge that I was a sex worker.

"And yes, there are still many people who think I'm crazy."

Crazy enough, she adds, to volunteer as a "prostitute" for nearly three days, offering free sex for migrant workers in Ten Yuan Brothel, in Wuhan in Hubei province.

Her pain as a 'prostitute' mum

How does a mother tell her 13-year-old daughter that she is going to be a prostitute?

It's not easy, admits Ms Ye Haiyan.

"I thought about how much I wanted my daughter to know and if I should hide the truth from her, but I decided being honest with my baby was better than hiding or hinting about it," she says.

It helped that shortly after Ms Ye was divorced in 2001, she and her daughter were given a place to stay by a prostitute. Ms Ye didn't have much money then.

Her daughter was then only a year old. The woman was a friend of a friend.

Ms Ye says of her daughter: "She grew up basking in my love and care, but she also saw how I was gradually moving into this area (of being an advocate)."

Once she had confirmed her plan, she sat her now 13-year-old daughter down for a chat.

"I told her I was going to try and work on this new idea and what I hoped to achieve from it.

"At first, she looked confused. Then she asked me, 'Must you really do it? Isn't it very shameful?'

"In that instant, something shot through my heart but I also knew I wasn't going to give up (on the idea). And I told her that it was important."

To her relief, her daughter told her: "Go ahead then. Just take care of yourself."

Click on the thumbnails below or read the full story here.

More here:
» She became a prostitute for a cause
» Speaking up for those who inhabit a world of shadows

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Ye during her time as an unpaid sex worker. (Photo: China Daily)
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