Bride Trafficking in India: 21st Century Slavery

Aanchal Kapoor (GNLU)

Premila lived in a rural area of Bihar. Her parents lived in extreme poverty. Desperate to escape their plight she was sold to a man in Punjab. There was no marriage ceremony and her body was used and abused by her ‘husband’ and his other male relatives. She was then sold to a prostitution ring in New Delhi.[1]

Bride trafficking is a recently developed form of trafficking. In an era where women are given the right to choose a suitable groom for themselves, there are those unfortunate ones who are forced into the practice of selling into marriage against their wishes. This is also known as ‘marriage of convenience’. The traffickers in this case pretend to be marriage brokers/ intermediaries for families in distant areas. Violence is used to convince women to leave their homes. These women are from rural villages. They get lured by false promises from traffickers. The traffickers then sell the women to those who are willing to pay for brides. To keep them from escaping during the transaction to transportation and being sold, women are often drugged. It is a common scenario that one woman will be sold multiple times as a bride to different men. Their roles could vary from sexual slavery to performing hard labour all day and suffering physical and verbal abuse.

The Haryana province has a great gender difference and is hence known as the destination for bride trafficking.   It is an area where female children are considered a financial burden and cases of female infanticide and foeticide are common practices which lead the imbalance in the sex ratio. This leads to men not being able to find wives. So, the men folk are now buying, sharing and selling and re-selling wives. Women are not treated as human beings but are now a commodity. The society here believes that its cheaper to buy a bride than to raise a daughter.

The supply of this so called commodity comes from the areas of Bihar, Assam and West Bengal. According to a report, the price of the bride, if bought from the sellers, may cost between Rs. 4,000 to 30,000. The parents of the women are normally paid an average of Rs. 500 to 1,000.

Since, women are being seen as a commodity, men are looking at new ways of procuring them. The concept of bride trafficking is yet another version of domestic sex- trafficking. Women in this whole scenario are not being given their real status.

Bride trafficking can be the primary purpose of trafficking or it could be a by-product. The brides can be used for a combination of purposes. They could be enticed with false promises of a good job or an attractive lifestyle. Those who are at maximum risk are the dalits and the tribals. This is because the traffickers target the most vulnerable i.e. the poor, the marginalized and the displaced. This phenomenon is being ignored by the law agencies. Day in and day out the enforcement agencies fail to curb this crime, fail to save a girl, a daughter, a sister from being sold to people who see women not as a wife but a commodity of their satisfaction.

---

[1] Premila’s Story, http://www.dfn.org.uk/trafficking/bride-trafficking/premilas-story.html

Recommended: Al Jazeera’s section on 21st century slavery and video on bridal slaves

Related: Our earlier post on human trafficking across the Indo-Nepal border titled ‘Juice Bar Trafficking: Bihar’s Children sold to Kathmandu’

Violence in Assam: Ethnic cleansing or outburst of long suppressed anger?

Snigdha Guha Roy (GNLU)

Riot victims at a relief camp in Kokrajhar [Courtesy: The Hindu]

Time will bring to life whatever is hidden; it will cover up and conceal whatever is now shining in splendor.  The situation in Assam seemed to have cropped up out of nowhere but we know better, don’t we? Even with the whole state burning, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, who is currently serving his third consecutive tenure as the Chief Minister of Assam thrice consecutively, prefers to live in denial of the enormity of the situation. He seems oblivious of the fact that people around the world have now seen through the façade, of peace and harmony in the State maintained by him.

The Bodos and the Muslims of the region have shared a long history of animosity. However the complexity of the situation in Assam and the underlying grey area make it difficult to categorize any one of them as the aggressor or the victim. Since the time the reporting has become more exhaustive and the real tragedy has unfolded through the terrified faces of many thousands in the relief camps, it has become apparent that this is no one-sided riot: Bodos, Bengali Hindus, Adivasis and Muslims have all suffered in the melting pot of a diverse, multi-ethnic society.[1]  Nevertheless in the present scenario the ‘Bangladeshi immigrants’ have been tagged as the reason for all the atrocities. However, one wonders whether that is the only reason.

 The problem of immigration has been looming over the state for a long a time now. The predicament of it has been highlighted by many even before the actual consequence surfaced, yet the successive governments in Assam and the Centre have turned a blind eye towards the impending end in order to play vote bank politics. In 1998, the then Governor of Assam, Gen. SK Sinha had extensively spoken about the infiltration problems in his report to the President of India. Warning about the disastrous consequences he had stated that “the unabated influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam and the consequent perceptible change in the demographic pattern of the State has been a matter of grave concern. It threatens to reduce the Assamese people to a minority in their own state.”

The consequence of immigration is not only an increase in demand on the natural resources of the land but also an amplified competition for survival. So is also the situation in Assam. According to many the clash in Assam is a backlash of people fighting for their socio-economic and cultural survival in their own homeland. The continuous snatching away of land, employment and economic opportunity are the root causes.

These consequences of immigration make one wonder whether the real problem is infiltration by Bangladeshi Muslims or the increase in population. The Bangladeshi migrants who had come as refugees initially had struggled to make a living and gradually started competing for land and resource with villages in hinterland which led to the violent clashes with natives.[2] But the migration to Assam had started since the beginning of the 20^th century where the people from the now West Bengal were persuaded to move to Assam. Those migrants included both Hindus and Muslims. So, given  the situation where does the question of ethnicity of the people involved in the struggle arise?

Another possible reason of the violence is the aspiration of the native Bodos to have their very own Bodoland free from the presence of any non – Bodo actors. In this situation also, it is not them versus the Hindus but them versus anyone and everyone taking away their fair share of the State.

Amidst all the violence in the State, one cannot overlook the failure of the State to act. The State of Assam has failed miserably in its responsibility to maintain peace and order in the State. There are various reports which suggest that despite the Government and the police knowing about the unrest in the State, there was lack of active participation from their side. . In such situations, the State is required to be proactive rather than reactive. On 6^th September 2012, the National Committee for Minorities (NCM) held the police and the other state machinery responsible for the violence and unrest in the state. Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson, NCM who had recently toured the violence hit state said that the main concern of the government and authorities should be speedy and just rehabilitation of the people. “It is to be done in such a manner that people go back to their places”. Mr. Tarun Gogoi had committed to rehabilitating the affected people living in the migration camps by 15^thof August 2012. However, nothing much has been done till date. The thousands of people, living in the camps, who lost their homes in this struggle are living in conditions unfathomable. With no source of income and nowhere to return they seem to be at the complete disposal of the government. No matter whether this is an attack on a particular ethic group or a backlash of the long suppression, it is the innocent people who are feeling the brunt of the violence.

---

[1] http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/newsman/1/63780/assam-riot-victims-need-our-sensitivity-not-our-prejudice.html

[2] http://centreright.in/2012/07/assam-riots-how-should-india-deal-with-illegal-migrants/#.UFS5J9lvrQ4

 

 

 

The journey of polio eradication in India: Narrowing down on success

Aanchal Kapoor (GNLU, Gandhihagar)

The real success of Polio eradication campaign lies in reaching out to the people during each immunization round and making it a people’s campaign.

Photo: Sonakshi Pandey

Earlier this year, it was announced that it has been a year since any polio case had been reported in India.   Our country is on the brink of eradicating this disease which affects thousands of children each year across the globe. In India, 1000 children suffered from Polio every day as per the National Polio Surveillance Project. By 2007 the numbers had dropped to 4 per day. This was a major milestone in Polio Eradication. Saurabh Tripathi, the WHO Representative for India, has said that if this momentum is maintained, India will be eligible to get the WHO Polio Eradication Certificate in a few years.[1]

The Health Ministry and UNICEF have done a remarkable job in the eradicating polio campaign. A wide range of workers and volunteers, from both inside and outside the health sector, had been employed to deliver the polio vaccine and also to monitor progress in virtually every area of the country; regardless of the infrastructure available. Further, high level political advocacy and mass mobilization were utilized to the optimum benefit in this programme. The real success of Polio eradication campaign lies in reaching out to the people during each immunization round and making it a people’s campaign. There had been minor setbacks due to lack of cooperation from Education and Child Welfare Departments in some States; which fortunately did not deter the effective implementation of the programme.

The mass media, which is a powerful channel of information to the public, was also used to a large extent in the campaign. For over a decade now, India has witnessed mass campaigns and marketing strategies that had been adopted by the government. The message of polio eradication was delivered in a variety of interesting ways with the help of media, such as advertising the commercial advantages of polio vaccination on television. In the past, the support from celebrities has helped to a large extent in reaching out to the people involving them with the campaign. Actors like Amitabh Bachchan have previously helped in promoting awareness about the eradication of Polio through television advertisements. The advertisements came with a catchy tag line- “do boond zindagi ki” which became famous throughout the country. Players of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders endorsed Polio eradication in India. The team members administered Polio drops to promote this drive. This initiative was a part of UNICEF’s “Bowl Out Polio” campaign.

The concept of Polio Ravivaar has also been instrumental in eradicating this disease. One Sunday every month would be chosen, and children below the age of five were administered oral polio vaccination across the country.  The Sunday was popularly known as “polio ravivaar”.   Government hospitals hoisted banners outside their buildings, informing the public of this important day each month. Moreover, promotion of concept of health as a basic right, supported by leaflets providing more information or reinforcing the message, would be distributed to the public.

The global polio eradication initiative is headed by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In order popularize the campaign amongst the higher strata of the society; Rotary International has launched airport baggage tags which said- “End Polio Now”.

Jong- wookLee, WHO Director-General has said- “For polio campaigns to reach every child, state and district-level governments must be committed and engaged. Only then can polio-virus transmission be interrupted.”

For more details on the issue of Polio Eradication see www.polioeradication.org.

---

[1] India to get polio eradication certificate in a few years: WHO, at http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/49246-india-to-get-polio-eradication-certificate-in-a-few-years-who.html.