Iqbal Hussain, Pakistan’s most infamous artist, grew up in the Heera Mandi, Lahore’s red light district, among the “dancing girls” who are now his models. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Most of Pakistani families wish for a male child who will bring them a daughter-in-law and a dowry. But, in Heera Mandi, among the sex workers, power and earning potential are passed from mother to daughter, leaving boys to their own devices. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Heera Mandi, which means “Diamond Market” was once home to royal courtesans. Nowadays, sex workers peddle their services from the windows of crumbling ghetto apartments. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Iqbal Hussain paints a shy young sex worker by window light in his Heera Mandi studio. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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"Awaiting Dowry," 1996. Portrait of Iqbal Hussain’s wife and three daughters. The daughters wear no jewelry, as their dowry is dependent on Hussain’s ability to sell his paintings. (Iqbal Hussain/Courtesy of Lahore Art Gallery)
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A horse cart serves as a taxi in Heera Mandi, which by day, serves as a shopping bazaar. By night it's Lahore’s red-light district, where prostitutes veil their services in the guise of dance and song, according to the centuries-old tradition of courtesanship. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Straddling the divide between sacred and profane is Cooco’s Den, Iqbal Hussain’s popular rooftop restaurant, which offers breathtaking views of the 17th century Badshahi Mosque while it abutts the crumbling apartments of Heera Mandi. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Colored lights illuminate the entrance to Cooco’s Den. The 300 year-old haveli, decorated with ornate woodwork and balconies popular with the Hindu upper caste, houses Iqbal Hussain’s studio, gallery and living quarters. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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"Thana" ("The Police Station"), 2002. Portrait of a mother and her two daughters, who were badly tortured by police, having been accused of sexual misdeeds. (Courtesy of Lahore Art Gallery)
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Girls study dance at a teacher’s apartment in Heera Mandi. The graceful courtesans of days past were skilled in song and dance, which they used to charm their wealthy clients. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Sheena, center, supports her family with her earnings as a “dancer.” Her mother, Naila, the subject of several of Iqbal Hussain’s paintings, was once among the most sought-after women in Heera Mandi. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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Young girls growing up in Heera Mandi are groomed as “Dancing Girls’ from a young age. Pretty young girls often have their virginity sold to the highest bidder in the form of “marriages” when they reach puberty, and support their families during their prime years. (Jodi Hilton/GlobalPost)
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"Dancing Lessons," 2001. Hussain says, “most of the girls aged 9-10 years are forced to learn to dance and singing.” as preparation for their work. (Iqbal Hussain/Courtesy of Lahore Art Gallery)
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