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Traders in human flesh: The Pioneer
New Delhi, Nov 25: It sounds shocking but it is true. You can buy a woman in some parts of the country for Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000.
New Delhi, Nov 25: It sounds shocking but it is true. You can buy a woman in some parts of the country for Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000. It is the media that has unearthed this disgusting fact. The trouble is some of the State governments are unwilling to even recognise the problem, much less tackle it. Trafficking of women seems to be widespread. The touts have a wide network for luring teenage girls from Assam, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, etc., for sale in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and so on. The media sniffed this illegal trade recently when the police rescued four minor girls, all from Assam, from the clutches of their buyers in Faridabad, Haryana.
When this case was splashed in the newspapers, journalists fanned out to other parts of Haryana. Very soon they found that buying and selling of girls in Mewat area of the State is a common practice. It has been going on for decades. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 girls, mainly from Assam, have been sold in this area in the last few years. After the above report, the media in other states too looked into this evil practice and found that buying and selling of girls is taking place almost regularly.
The State governments have been callous and indifferent towards the practice. Officials refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the problem. Mr Rishi Kant of Shakti Vahini, an NGO fighting for the rights of the sex workers, says that in the case of Haryana, the touts employ women to lure girls from Assam. These women go to impoverished villages and lure girls from the homes of poor farmers, promising them good life and work in the northern states. The modus operandi of the procurers is shrouded in mystery. But it begins with the parents of the girls reporting their daughters have gone missing, to the police. Are the girls kidnapped? There are several theories regarding this.
One is that a victim is lured with blandishments by the procurer, who usually deploys confidence tricks. Once a victim takes the bait and reaches the place, she is overpowered and injected with drugs that make her unconsciousness. Then she is given something to eat to make her semi-unconscious. In that condition, she is smuggled out of the State. The injections continue until she reaches the destination. Once the victim regains consciousness, she finds herself in new surroundings with strangers. Since most of these girls are illiterate, they are helpless to know where they are and why they have been brought there, until it is too late.
The stories that have emerged from the victims are truly heart-rending. Most girls were raped or sexually abused by several persons before being put on sale. Some had been sold and resold several times in an year or two. The State governments seem to have closed their eyes to the problem. The Centre is yet to awaken to this menace though it has been made aware of the matter. Dr CP Thakur, Minister for North-Eastern Affairs, has expressed his abhorrence to this practice. He told that he is taking up the matter with the Assam Chief Minister. The Department of Women and Child Development is also looking into it.
What can be done to curb this inhuman practice? One, the Indian Government must come down heavily on this practice by initiating concrete action to end it. Two, the Centre should create a task force to look into the matter in consultation with the concerned State governments. It should have mandatory powers to detect the touts, procurers and the like and take legal actions against them. Also, special mobile courts should be set up to catch and punish the accused on spot. They should be denied bail under the law.
Three, the politicians should launch media campaigns to educate the public about this evil practice. They should appeal to the public to extend their help in nabbing those indulging in it. Also, concerted exercise must be made to change the mindset of the public on this social evil. Reputed NGOs should be roped in to extend a helping hand in this task. Simultaneously, the Government as well as credible social organisations should take steps to raise the status of the women, their equality before the law, and to educate women about their rights and privileges. Finally, the trading of women should be made a crime of grave magnitude punishable by life imprisonment at the least, if not death.
When this case was splashed in the newspapers, journalists fanned out to other parts of Haryana. Very soon they found that buying and selling of girls in Mewat area of the State is a common practice. It has been going on for decades. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 girls, mainly from Assam, have been sold in this area in the last few years. After the above report, the media in other states too looked into this evil practice and found that buying and selling of girls is taking place almost regularly.
The State governments have been callous and indifferent towards the practice. Officials refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the problem. Mr Rishi Kant of Shakti Vahini, an NGO fighting for the rights of the sex workers, says that in the case of Haryana, the touts employ women to lure girls from Assam. These women go to impoverished villages and lure girls from the homes of poor farmers, promising them good life and work in the northern states. The modus operandi of the procurers is shrouded in mystery. But it begins with the parents of the girls reporting their daughters have gone missing, to the police. Are the girls kidnapped? There are several theories regarding this.
One is that a victim is lured with blandishments by the procurer, who usually deploys confidence tricks. Once a victim takes the bait and reaches the place, she is overpowered and injected with drugs that make her unconsciousness. Then she is given something to eat to make her semi-unconscious. In that condition, she is smuggled out of the State. The injections continue until she reaches the destination. Once the victim regains consciousness, she finds herself in new surroundings with strangers. Since most of these girls are illiterate, they are helpless to know where they are and why they have been brought there, until it is too late.
The stories that have emerged from the victims are truly heart-rending. Most girls were raped or sexually abused by several persons before being put on sale. Some had been sold and resold several times in an year or two. The State governments seem to have closed their eyes to the problem. The Centre is yet to awaken to this menace though it has been made aware of the matter. Dr CP Thakur, Minister for North-Eastern Affairs, has expressed his abhorrence to this practice. He told that he is taking up the matter with the Assam Chief Minister. The Department of Women and Child Development is also looking into it.
What can be done to curb this inhuman practice? One, the Indian Government must come down heavily on this practice by initiating concrete action to end it. Two, the Centre should create a task force to look into the matter in consultation with the concerned State governments. It should have mandatory powers to detect the touts, procurers and the like and take legal actions against them. Also, special mobile courts should be set up to catch and punish the accused on spot. They should be denied bail under the law.
Three, the politicians should launch media campaigns to educate the public about this evil practice. They should appeal to the public to extend their help in nabbing those indulging in it. Also, concerted exercise must be made to change the mindset of the public on this social evil. Reputed NGOs should be roped in to extend a helping hand in this task. Simultaneously, the Government as well as credible social organisations should take steps to raise the status of the women, their equality before the law, and to educate women about their rights and privileges. Finally, the trading of women should be made a crime of grave magnitude punishable by life imprisonment at the least, if not death.