DZALEKA, Malawi — Just before midnight on a Thursday last month, 22-year-old Louisa and her two friends entered the crowded bar at Dzaleka refugee camp, in Dowa district in central Malawi, dressed in revealing attire.
Louisa, who started working as a sex worker last year, told Devex that “life has not been easy the past few months.”
For the remaining night hours, she will dance and drink until a client takes her out, either to another bar or to any nearby lodge for the night. “I have to do this if I have to take care of my daughter’s needs and make ends meet as our monthly cash transfers were recently drastically reduced,” said Louisa — whose full name has been withheld to protect her identity.