At least 25 people were injured, police said Sunday. The violence erupted late Saturday after the prostitutes, wearing white head gear, tried to enter the brothel at Tanbazar district in Narayanganj industrial town, 10 miles east of Dhaka, the capital.
The brothel had been in business since Police pushed and beat back the prostitutes with batons. The prostitutes hurled bottles and rocks at police. At least 20 prostitutes and five policemen were hurt during the hour-long confrontation, though none of the injuries was serious.
Many neighborhood stores were closed but traffic in the area was jammed. In , the government asked the prostitutes to change their trade and offered them money to start small businesses such as poultry farming and tailoring.
The prostitutes feared that society would never accept them. Similar earlier attempts to rehabilitate prostitutes had also failed and the women returned to the brothels.
Women older than 16 can legally register as prostitutes if a magistrate determines that they have no other means of support. Prostitutes Protest in Bangladesh.
