London, Nov 5 : The Women's Institute of the UK (WI) is calling for the legalization of brothels.

The members of the Institute have expressed their demand of having designated 'safe working areas' for prostitutes in a resolution.

The resolution was passed by the 6,000-strong Hampshire County Federation of WIs.

The matter will now be debated by the organisation nationally.

"It seems to be a sensible way forward to legalise brothels. We all know it goes on and it's the best way we can protect the women who work on the streets in big cities,” the Daily Mail quoted Jean Johnson, of Holybourne WI, who led the drive, as saying.

"We are not trying to help the men who use prostitutes. We are trying to help the women who end up as prostitutes. They should be allowed to work in a clean and safe environment,” she added.

Johnson said that the WI was not just limited to knitting and baking.

"We get involved in important issues of the day and sometimes come up with some quite radical ideas,” she said.

The WI, which has more than 211,000 members, campaigned for equal pay for women in 1942 and for the government to invest in Aids research in 1986. (ANI)