Amsterdam to have monument in honor of prostitutes

Amsterdam’s Red Light District will soon be home to a bronze statue in honor of prostitutes around the world.

The monument was designed on the initiative of Mariska Majoor, of the Prostitution Information Center.

Amsterdam city has issued a permit for the statue to be placed on the Oudekerksplein, the square surrounding Amsterdam’s oldest church.

The same square, bordered by pubs, coffee shops and bordellos, already sports a sculpture of a hand caressing a breast, one of several bronze and iron statues donated to the city of Amsterdam by an unknown artist.

The new statue is created by artist Els Rijerse from ’s-Graveland, Netherlands. It depicts a woman who, feet apart and standing in a doorway at the top of small set of steps, looks self-assuredly into the world.

The name of the monument will be revealed when the bronze is unveiled. That unveiling is expected to take place at the end of March, possibly on the second annual Red Light District “Open Day.”

According to Majoor, herself a former prostitute, the statue is meant to show respect to the millions of people around the world who earn their money in prostitution.

Technorati Tags: Amsterdam, Red Light District, Netherlands, Holland

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