Mona entertained her first client when she was Today, she and her ex-boyfriend run Club Eden in Schlieren. Our contributor Luisa Aeberhard visits Mona at work. The blue house boasts bright red shutters, and the path to the front door is lined with shrubs. The stairwell is illuminated by red LED strip lights, the walls adorned with posters of naked women. She takes me into the kitchen. Cigarette smoke hangs in the air. She invites me to take a seat and says Mona will be right there.
A washing machine vibrates next to the fridge, bowls of condoms lie around. The prostitutes who work here also use pseudonyms like Crystal, Tiffany and Liberty. Six to ten women work at Eden, most of them from Eastern Europe. She seems contented. But her life has had its ups and downs, both professionally and personally.
After training as a typesetter, she spent many years working in the press and publishing industries as a graphic designer. Later, she and her boyfriend set up their own graphic design studio. At first everything went like clockwork, but at the turn of the millennium the industry began cutting back and the couple found their orders dwindling. That was 15 years ago. The pair have now been running the brothel in Schlieren for eleven years. Mona is front of house, while her business partner looks after the administration.
The Eden is spread over three floors, with themed rooms that Mona decorated herself. Clients pay francs for 20 minutes of pleasure, or francs for an hour. The third floor is a man-free zone β this is where the girls live. On their birthdays, she gives them a gift and a cake. Clack, clack β a woman with wavy brown hair comes into the kitchen and heads towards a drawer. She asks Mona for permission before taking out some pills. The brunette totters off, her backside wobbling in its wisp of fabric.
Above the fridge, a monitor is linked to a video camera at the entrance. Men who behave inappropriately are immediately shown the door. She says she sometimes feels guilty, but the majority of her clients are single.
