'Ukahaba ni taaluma, iheshimiwe'

Renowned  prostitute and leader of Nigerian chapter of African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), Patoo Abraham, led a group of fellow prostitutes on a protest in Lagos
The 48 year old mother of 2 told  Al jazeera:

"We are tired of dying in silence.We want to be able to practise our profession with pride like every other person. We want an end to name-calling and stigmatisation. We are sex workers and not asawo [a Yoruba derogatory name for prostitutes].”

 "Sex work, is normal work and that there are “sex workers everywhere under one form of disguise or the other”"People call us names but the funny thing is that they don't even know if their wives, sisters or daughters are one of us,"

"If I don't tell you that I am a sex worker, you won’t know unless you see me here. Most of us are working as nurses in big hospitals, some are bankers and even students, but you won’t know." . 

“The government should stop criminalising our work,.Just as you are proud of your profession, that is how I am proud of mine. Just as you are respected for being a journalist, that is how I want to be respected"