Women and children trafficking is a national as well as global problem

Women and children trafficking is a national as well as global problem

Chapter 1

INAUGARAL WORDS 1.1 INTRODUCTION Bangladesh is a small deltaic country of South Asia with a total land area of 145,035 sq. km. It contains the eighth largest population in the world. In 2001, its population stood at 130 million.

Its population density is one of the highest, surpassed only by the city-states of Singapore and Hong Kong. Natural disasters such as floods, droughts and cyclones are regular features in the life of Bangladeshis, as is political turmoil. Though during the last two decades Bangladesh made strong strides in socio economic developments, nonetheless, Bangladesh still remains one of the least developed countries of the world. 25 million people (19.23% of the total population) live in extreme poverty, and the incidence of poverty is worst among the women. In every respect, ranging from health and education to nutrition and income, women are the poorest of the poor. Bangladesh is one of the two unique countries of the world where life expectancy of women is lower than that of men. Given the size of its population, the ratio of population to arable land, the overall level of economic development and the increased number of women looking for avenues to earn a livelihood, there are ample reasons why various forms of migration forced and voluntary, internal and international, might occur in Bangladesh. And taking the opportunity of this situation and possibility of netting a big cache, it is not unlikely that traffickers shall tend to fish out this stream.

Women and children trafficking is a national as well as global problem. For the last two-three years trafficking in women and children has so alarmingly increased that it has become a matter

of great concern for the peace loving people of our country as well the government. Trafficking in women and children is undoubtedly a heinous crime against humanity. In fact women and children of downtrodden families who are unemployed and live below the subsistence level are the victim of trafficking as they are being allured for better job and remuneration abroad.

Trafficked women and children are employed in unsocial, undignified tedious and risky job.

Women are forced to the nasty profession like prostitution and children are used as camel jockeys.

Trafficking in women and children is one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world, behind drugs and arms.1 A report recently published by US Department of State has revealed that most of the trafficking incidents have occurred in South and South-East Asia, EastEurope, Latin America and in the poverty-stricken Africa. About one million women and children are trafficked every year from these regions to the west and other places.2 Trafficking in women and children within the territory of Bangladesh is also a common phenomenon. Uneducated and vulnerable woman and children deprived of financial, legal and social support and opportunities easily become victims of internal and cross border trafficking.

The organized gangs of traffickers are targeting the poorest of the poor and disadvantaged women in the rural areas of the country. The victims are either abducted or allured with promises of better life by providing lucrative job or marriage offers and false proposals to visit holy places. But, practically, they become the victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation and eventually embrace a life of agony and torture. Sometimes, their valuable organs are also taken away for rescuing other’s life in the clinics of different countries including India.

Most of the Bangladeshi women are sold in the brothels or forcibly engaged in prostitution or in cage brothels in the receiving countries like India, Pakistan and different Middle Eastern country. The victims who are forced into prostitution or brothels are the high-risk group for being HIV positive, and having AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. 3 According to the information revealed by various studies and observations of different organizations, the 1

M. McCoy , Understanding the Issue Path to Media Agenda: A Case Study on Human Trafficking, M.A thesis in the Anneberg School of Communication under the University of Pennsylvania. (2003) [http://www.unnayannews.net p=275 last accessed on 05.06.10] 2 Golam Murtuja, Centre for Communication and Development, Rajshahi. (2000) 3

S. Ali,. Movement against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. BNWLA. Dhaka. (2001:3) [http://www.unnayannews.net/?p=394 last accessed on 04.04.10]

prostitution or the brothels in Mumbai, India are the most high-risk areas for HIV and AIDS contamination.4 It is a grave concern for the human community that 70% of them are women, aged between 14 to 24 and that each of them is abused sexually five times in a day. So, first of all it can be considered as a violation of human rights and secondly as a way of spreading HIV across the globe.

In recent years, the trafficking of women and children has increased in Bangladesh and in other Asian countries. But little efforts have been made to gain a meaningful understanding of the local dynamics of the problem. The task is difficult and involves delving into a complex area of legal issues, social attitudes, economic interests, and illicit activities. Nonetheless, a better understanding of the causes and consequences of trafficking is essential for any future interventions to combat this human problem, both nationally and internationally.

Despite a large number of reports and considerable media coverage on trafficking, very few systematic research studies were conducted on trafficking. The available information on community members’ perceptions of trafficking and on the underlying determinants of trafficking, for example, is limited. Similarly, the experiences of organizations working to prevent trafficking and to assist trafficked people have not been adequately documented to identify appropriate interventions for improving the effectiveness of current efforts.

This review was undertaken to produce a comprehensive summary of available information concerning trafficking of women and children in Bangladesh. Information on the magnitude of the problem, the underlying factors that foster trafficking, modes of trafficking, major trafficking routes, and consequences of trafficking has been compiled. The review also highlights the current activities of different non-government organizations (NGOs) to address the trafficking problem. This document is expected to contribute to the greater understanding of the trafficking issues, and provide a framework for future studies on program needs and research gaps on this issue.

1.2 Scope and objects As a woman who could be a man’s mother, sister, daughter or wife, who is given the equal constitutional rights with man, who is equally fit to run the state activities like a man and who is 4

Ibid.

intellectually no less fit than a man in other spheres of life is being sold and purchased like cows, goats and sheep away from her natal home in gross violation of human rights; she is being taken to unknown far off places for being used either as a cheap labour or mainly as sex worker. This trading in women has of late stirred the wisdom of the world and throughout the world this shameless abuse of humanity has raised a voice to save the woman wherever she may be and whatever may be her caste, creed or religion by enacting new laws or updating the old ones and applying them through courts and tribunals.

This socially, politically and economically deplorable condition of women and recent world wisdom effect to improve their position and fate in society through motivation, legislation and awareness which have prompted me to undertake for investigating this socio-legal human problem of women of Bangladesh, India and Nepal and view it from the point of law and its practices in these countries. Trafficking in women is an international event, which has a long history. According to Indian Sociologist Bela Duttagupta, during the British rule, women form Europe, Australia and China were even trafficked to Indian sub-continent. There was also interborder trafficking within the continent.

At present, trafficking in women is an integral part of international migration. According to human rights activists: Demand from economically advanced countries for cheap labour created another foreign earning [sic] strategy of developing countries by promoting a labour export policy. The unequal sexual division of labour at the national and international labour market makes it difficult for women to get employment in the formal sector within and outside their country. Jobs available for women are either as domestic helpers or sex workers in the international market. The limited opportunities for women in overseas employment do not correlate to the number of women who want to work. Thus, there is a surplus of women who in turn become victims of unscrupulous recruiting agencies and human traffickers. Though trafficking in women also exists in western developed countries, it is more serious in developing one. Petro-dollars of Middle-East influence trafficking in women from South Asian countries, especially Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

There are some motives behind the incidence of trafficking in women. These are: to sell women into prostitution, to engage them in bonded labour, to remove their kidneys and sell them in the underground organ markets.

1.3 Context This section briefly describes the context of trafficking from the global, regional and Bangladesh perspectives.

1.3.1 Global context: Trafficking of persons into bonded sweatshop labour, forced marriage, forced prostitutions, domestic servitude, and other kinds of work is a global phenomenon that takes place within countries and regions and on a transcontinental scale. Trafficking in women is one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world with an estimated one to two million young women being trafficked annually for the purpose of forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that, in 1995, about 500,000 women were trafficked to the countries of the European Union from poorer regions of the world5 . So, it is not a problem of developing countries alone.

Although the concept of trafficking is often used for describing kidnapping and enslavement of women for the commercial sex industry, different government and international agencies have adopted much broader definitions of the term to include other forms of trafficking and affected groups, such as children trafficked for child labor and organ donation. The problem is usually under-reported because of the difficulties involved in tracking such clandestine activities. In recent years, the issues relating to trafficking have become more prominent and are being discussed more openly. There are more efforts also to understand the underlying dynamics of trafficking of women and children.

This may be related to increase awareness and concerns about human rights, violence against women, and about the role of commercial sex in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)related epidemics. The question of trafficking has figured prominently in the agenda of recent international meetings, such as International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, World Summit for Social Development in 1995, and Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995.

Accordingly, there is also a growing interest among the policy-makers and program managers to identify effective options for preventing such exploitation of women and children and in designing appropriate interventions for them.

5

V.Von Sturensee . Globalized, wire, sex trafficking in women and children: a worldwide, dehumanizing, epidemic of poverty, disease, corruption, collaboration, crime, violence, murder, slavery and the valuing of unprecedented profits at the expense of human dignity, decency and the rule of law, ( Massachuset; Brandeis University), 1997, P.59.

1.3.2 Regional context: Trafficking in Asia accounts for a large share of the global volume of trafficked women and children. In the last two decades, the number of trafficked women and children in Asia has increased alarmingly. Trafficking across borders was included as an important issue in the ninth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in May 1997.

In its 27th paragraph, the Declaration of the 9th SAARC Summit says, "Expressing grave concern at the trafficking of women and children within and between countries, the Heads of State or Government pledged to coordinate their efforts and take effective measures to address this problem.” They decided that the existing legislation(s) in Member States should be strengthened and strictly enforced. This should include simplification of the repatriation procedures for victims of trafficking.

Trafficking of women has been the part of the tradition in this region. In his review, Joardar found that the problem of prostitution is directly related to trafficking of women, and this institution has been in existence in this region in the nineteenth and early twentieth century 6.

Mukherjee reported that, during village melas (fair), many village girls were lost and misled into brothels7. A second study titled ‘Prostitution in historical and modern perspectives’, based on fieldwork was conducted in eight brothels in and around Kolkata by Joardar, who observed that prostitution was related with low castes. Also, the findings of Joardar on many women originally belonging to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries indicate the existence of a regional ‘circulation’ of prostitution, and the regional trafficking of women was historical 8 . In another study, Khan and Arefeen also observed some unique features in Jessore brothel, which are specific to a border town that has various kinds of business and cultural links with the adjacent Indian

region9.

South Asia is considered the most vulnerable region for trafficking because of its large population, large-scale rural-urban migration, large populations living in conditions of chronic poverty, and recurrent natural disasters. Women and children are sold, traded, exchanged for sexual slavery and prostitution, and bonded labour across borders, such as from Bangladesh to 6

B. Joardar. Prostitution in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century in Calcutta, (New Delhi: Inter-India Publications), 1985, p. - 87.

7 S. Mukherjee History of Prostitution in India. (Calcutta: Anup Publishing House), 1936. p. 206.

8 B. Jordar, Prostitution in historical and modern perspective, (New Delhi; Inter-India Publications), 1984. p.97 9 Z R. Khan ,H K. Arefeen . Report on Prostitution in Bangladesh, (Dhaka University; Centre for Social Studies), 1989-90. p. – 244.

India, Pakistan, and the Middle East; from Nepal to India; from Burma to Thailand; from Vietnam to Kampuchea; and from the Philippines to Japan. Table 1 shows distribution of Asian countries between which trafficking takes place. The table shows the major sending and receiving countries in the Asian region. Some sending Countries are as well receiving countries and vice versa.

1.3.3 Bangladesh context: Causes and consequences of trafficking in Bangladesh cannot be understood in isolation from its historical, cultural, geographical and socioeconomic perspectives and the present condition of women.

1.3.3.1 Historical and geographical contexts: After independence from British colonization in 1947, the Indian sub-continent was divided into two countries: India and Pakistan. Pakistan had two distinct geographic regions, East Pakistan and West Pakistan, separated by 1,200 miles.

Thus, many cross-border families were formed. During separation, many Muslim families from India migrated to Pakistan, particularly to East Pakistan. Again, many Hindus living in East Pakistan moved to India. In 1971, East Pakistan became independent from West Pakistan and a new nation, Bangladesh, was born. During this time, many non-Bengali Pakistanis (who were originally from India) wanted to go back to West Pakistan and are still awaiting repatriation to Pakistan. They live in 66 camps scattered in 14 districts of Bangladesh. As repatriation of these people has been delayed, many cross land-borders illegally. Often with these groups, other women and children are trafficked On both sides of the newly-drawn border between India and Pakistan and India and Bangladesh, there are many ‘enclaves’ which are pockets of land belonging to a nation other than that which surrounds them. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 enclaves of Bangladesh in India. Usually, these areas are not patrolled or controlled by any law-enforcing agencies. Research by the BNWLA has shown that these enclaves have been used as recruitment and collection sites by traffickers.

1.3.3.2 Socio-economic context: Bangladesh, one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, has 147,570 sq km of land and a population density of 755 per sq km. The present estimated population of the country is about 129 million. Despite the achievements of some poverty-alleviation programmers through micro-credit and other development initiatives, the vast majority of the populations in Bangladesh still live in poverty. Illiteracy and unemployment are quite high.

Recurrent natural disasters make the situation more critical for the entire population. During distress situation, lack of shelter for girls is a great problem. All these factors make women and children vulnerable, and make them easy targets of traffickers.

1.3.3.3 Cultural context: If socioeconomic conditions present a context of persisting poverty and if underdevelopment affects large numbers of the population, this situation is most acutely felt by women, because they additionally face strong religious, historic and cultural forces that tend to shape every aspect of their lives. Legally, both women and men have the same rights and are entitled to equal treatment under the law. Nevertheless, cultural norms often act as barriers to the implementation of egalitarian legislation. For example, due to male preference, females suffer not only nutritional neglect, but also receive less attention during sickness than males.

Arranged marriages are the norm, and young women are still married relatively early in life 10 .

The most recent Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) reported that about 60% of women aged 10-49 years were married by the time they were aged 15 years11 .

Legal provisions to protect women and children from exploitation are also not enforced due to organizational inefficiency and the inadequate capacity of law-enforcing agencies. As a result, some social practices, which are detrimental to a woman’s status in society, still continue many decades after their legal abolition. A case in point is the practice of dowry, which continues despite national legislation against this, which was signed in 1980. The inability to fulfill commitments of dowry affects a young bride’s treatment by her husband’s relatives and increases her vulnerability of being abandoned and trafficked for immoral purposes or bonded labour.12 1.4 Routes of trafficking There are two common types of trafficking in Bangladesh: one is internal and the other is cross border trafficking. In the case of internal trafficking, women and children are often taken away from their homes through abduction, on false promise of a better life with good employment, by traffickers who in turn sell them in brothels and ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh. On the other 10

J. Morris, Behind The Veil: The Changing Face Of Women In Bangladesh, ( Slant; School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University), 1997, p. – 116.

11 S.N. Mitra , Al-sabir Ahmed, Cross A R, K. Jamil, Bangladesh Demographic and Health Ssurvey, 1996-97.

(Dhaka: National Institute of Population Research and Training), 1997, p. - 252.

12 S. Ali. Survey In The Area Of Child And Women Trafficking. (Dhaka; Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association), 1997, p. - 100.

hand, at the cross-border level, they are smuggled by the gang of traffickers to place them further destinations such as India, Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries where their ultimate fate is a life of sexual exploitation, abuse and other forms of bonded labour. Tiny boys, who are trafficked to the Middle–East mostly, become camel-jockeys, which is a very risky and hazardous job.

According to a study conducted by the Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyer’s Association, in 250 villages in different parts of the country in 1999, every year a total of 7000 women and children become victim of cross-border trafficking. The real number is much higher, and could not be ascertained due to the absence of studies covering currently all the districts of the country. Besides, a large number of women and children are trafficked every year within this territory. In addition, it has been identified that almost all of the 1.6 million garment-worker-girls and young women are the vulnerable groups that can easily become victim of internal and crossborder trafficking at any time.13 The networks of traffickers in Bangladesh are well organized with different settings of people like local political leaders, smugglers, anti-social activists and somehow law-enforcement personnel also.14 The traffickers take advantage of Bangladesh’s sizable borders to transport the women, often using large criminal networks and deceptive tactics to avoid detection and prosecution. It has been revealed from an interview with a local journalist that the victims of trafficking are taken and measured as a coin of exchange between the traders of India and Bangladesh. For example, if any valuable goods are smuggled from India to Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi smugglers make their payment by trafficking women and children instead of sending natural currency. This is because, it is paving the way for another illegal and profitable business, and saving the time, space and energy in exchanging the natural currency between the two countries.

There are large networks of traffickers working at the national level and across borders.

Normally, a group of traffickers collects victims from Bangladesh, and hands them over to their counterparts in India or Myanmar. From there, these agents take them to the Batrigach.

Bangladesh is mainly a country of origin for trafficking in women and children. A reported 200,000 Bangladeshi women and children have been taken out of the country in the past 10

13 14

Habib Mohammad Ali, IBS (Rajshahi; University of Rajshahi) [ http://www.unnayannews.net/?p=394] http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/tiprpt/2001/index.cfm?docid=3928)

years.15 At least 20,000 Bangladeshi women and children are trafficked to India and Pakistan and to Middle Eastern countries every year.16 According to another estimate, 50,000 Bangladeshi girls are trafficked to or through India every year. The girls end up in brothels in India or Pakistan or in Middle Eastern or South Asian countries. 17 Women are also trafficked to Australia.

Internal trafficking in women and children occurs from rural areas of the country to the capital, Dhaka.

Chapter 2 TRAFFICKING AND BANGLADESH

2.1 DEFINITION In this chapter denotes what is trafficking and its natures. How trafficking problem is internalized. Trafficking means illegal transfer of women and children from one place to another.

The crux of the issue is that civil society in Bangladesh is yet to internalize the mindset that trafficking and flesh trade are as bad as murder, rape, or mugging. Trafficking, which is a serious problem and is considered a violation of human rights, is yet to be internalized emotionally by society at large in Bangladesh and also in other South Asian countries.

The main purpose of definition of trafficking is to understand what it is? I describe the term women trafficking in a various ways, such as Bangladesh perspective as well as international perspectives. I describe the definition of women trafficking with Bangladesh perspectives from my own thought and from various N.G.O.’s of Bangladesh and others sources. I describe the trafficking with Bangladesh perspectives because the purpose of this research is to understand about women trafficking in view of Bangladesh. It helps to find out us the nature of trafficking in Bangladesh. define women trafficking from various international organizations, such as U.N. General Assembly, Global Alliance against Trafficking in Women (GAATW), International Organization for Migrations (IOM), The International Labor Organization (ILO), USAID, etc. Those definitions may help us to know about the nature of women trafficking as an international crime.

15

“Human Trafficking Is Going Unabated along the Borders,”( Business Recorder, Global News Wire), 4 June 2001.

16 Times of India, (13 October 2003) “20,000 Bangladeshi Women, Children Trafficked Every Year,” 17 “When Victims Becomes Accused”, Agence France Presse, 2 June 2003.

2.2 Definitions The definition of trafficking continues to be the subject of debate, and there is no conclusive or even commonly agreed upon definition globally, regionally or even nationally. This in itself is indicative of the degree of ideological contention which marks the discourse on trafficking and related issues. Absence of consensus on the definition has crucial implications on strategic planning and programme development since some of the definitions which inform concrete practice may be contradictory to each other. However, there are some basic elements of trafficking that are widely agreed upon, such as violence, deception, coercion, deprivations of freedom of movement, abuse of authority, debt bondage, forced labor and slavery-like practices, and other forms of exploitation or use of force.

2.2.1 Bangladesh Perspective: The people of Bangladesh individually and collectively consider trafficking particularly trafficking in women and children as a heinous crime. From time immemorial, people in this deltaic region of Bengal have been living peacefully and united.

The social fabric and family network was so strong that people used to live in societies with strong sense of belongingness and security. But after independence, many things, many norms and customs have changed. With the passage of time, people saw gradual decline in the role and efficacy of social institutions, its command and applicability. The hard realities of life, harsh economic conditions and access to information and education have shattered the myths in societies and bonds of families. In the threshold of a new century traditional, age-old values were swept away by surge of modern individualistic values, that prefers individualism to collectivism, profit to charity and richness to egalitarian societies. Thus social values and family bonds that have for so long knotted our society into a solid rock were now partially or fully discarded.

Consequently, women and children who were protected by the social safety network of our family and society are now no more treated so. They are left to the mercy of open market, which is usually throat cut and ruthless. Profit is the only driving force here and it determined the price of women and child, which appeared to be very lucrative.

The Bangla equivalent of the word trafficking is pachar. It has a mild connotation, which means transfer from one place to another. If the term pachar is used in reference to women and children, in Bangla the phrase nario shishu pachar means illegal transfer of women and children from one place to another. Trafficking, which is a serious problem and is considered a violation of human rights, is yet to be internalized emotionally by society at large in Bangladesh and also

in other South Asian countries. The term itself does not capture the total implications for an adolescent girl to be abducted and taken to a brothel; threatened, beaten, and raped; and forced to submit to having sex with men, seven days a week, for several years until she eventually becomes ill which may sometime result in death.

The crux of the issue is that civil society in Bangladesh has yet to internalize the mind-set that ‘trafficking’ is as bad as murder, rape, or mugging. When one hears or reads news about trafficking, it does not create the same reaction as other criminal activities, such as rape, murder, or mugging. Newspapers are replete with news of rape and murder, but there are few reports on trafficking of women and children. It may be because trafficking happens behind the scenes and is hard to detect. Both print and electronic media could be used for playing a more effective role in depicting different facets of trafficking in Bangladesh.

At the NGO level, it has been observed that, although there is no disagreement regarding the seriousness of the problem, there are differences on how they internalize the problem. Some NGO representatives think that awareness about trafficking issues in Bangladesh is different when compared to other crimes. The expression was as follows: "generally, people are not treating trafficking equally with other types of offences, those who are conscious can easily relate trafficking with murder and rape, since murder and rape are crimes of such a nature which has an urgency, the reaction is quick and immediate, whereas trafficking takes place through a process behind the scenes and occurs over a period of time, so people do not have any immediate reaction"18 Another respondent representing an NGO looked at trafficking as a part of migration process, but was bothered by violence and illegal activities associated with trafficking. She stated, "Trafficking is a kind of migration. One can go anywhere s/he likes. It is a fundamental human right. People are going from one place to another for a long, long time. But when people are taken illegally through deception and are tortured, it becomes an issue. So, violence and illegal activities associated with trafficking should be stopped" 19 Shamim pointed out that the word trafficking does not carry the sense of violence, such as murder or rape. She thinks that people are yet to incorporate this, although trafficking should be considered the worst form of exploitation. She highlighted another facet of the problem which is hat the outcome of traffickers

18

Interview with Fawzia, PROSHIKA, ( An Overview; Trafficking of Women and Children in Bangladesh) [http://www.icddrb.org/images/sp111.pdf. last accessed on o4.04.09] 19 Interview with Natasha Ahmed of UBINIG, Ibid.

is not well-understood, since there is little documentation of what happens to women and children after they are trafficked to a place.20 2.2.2 International Perspective:

International organizations use various definitions for

describing trafficking. The definitions tend to focus on gender, age, reason for trafficking, and the issues of coercion and violence which are often associated with trafficking. In the case of children, in 1998, a research report by Archavanitkul 21 titled “Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation including Child Prostitution in the Mekong Sub-region”, compared definitions used by the UN General Assembly, Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW), International Organization for Migrations (IOM), and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

After considering these definitions, the authors concluded that important dimensions of child trafficking include the performance of a profitable act by person(s) other than the children themselves who transport a child within or across the national borders usually using false or deceptive information for the purpose of work or services in destructive and exploitative work conditions by means of violence, abuse, or other forms of coercion. For their study, a trafficked child refers to “A child who is recruited and transported from one place to another across a national border, legally or illegally, with or without the child’s consent, usually but not always organized by an intermediary: parents, family member, teacher, procurer, or local authority. At the destination, the child is coerced or semi-forced (by deceptive information) to engage in activities under exploitative and abusive conditions”22.

In the case of women, the same dimensions seem to be important. For instance, the US President’s Interagency Council on Women, defines trafficking as: “All acts involved in the recruitment, transport, harboring or sale of persons within national or across international borders through deception or fraud, coercion or force, or debt bondage for purposes of placing persons in situations of forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, or other forms of slavery-like practices”.

Similarly, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women considers that trafficking of women refers to “all acts involved in the recruitment and/or transportation of a woman within and across national borders for work or services by means of violence or threat of violence, 20

Interview with, Isharat Shamim, CWCS, Ibid.

K. Archavantikul. Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation Encluding Child Prostitution in the Mekong Sub-region, (Bangkok; Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University), 1998. p.97.

22 Ibid.

21

abuse of authority or dominant position, debt-bondage, deception or other forms of coercion”23.

Friedman, USAID, referred the following definition “The recruitment of girls/women by means of violence or threat, debt bondage, deception or coercion to act as sex workers under menace of penalty and for which the individual has not offered themselves voluntarily” 24.

Although prostitution is an important outcome of trafficking activities, there are many other exploitative outcomes and events relating to trafficking. Thus, definitions tend to be general and encompass not only the sex and age of the trafficked persons, but also the different purposes for which people are trafficked. The countries of SAARC have a definition in their Convention for Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children. Nevertheless, a consultation workshop organized by the Resistance Network in Bangladesh in August 1999 made suggestions for changes to the convention. The workshop proposed the following definitions: “Trafficking in women consists of all acts involved in the procurement, transportation, forced movement, and/or selling and buying of women within and/or across border by fraudulent means, deception, coercion, direct and/or indirect threats, abuse of authority, for the purpose of placing a woman against her will without her consent in exploitative and abusive situations such as forced prostitution, forced marriage, bonded and forced labour, begging, organ trade, etc.”

“Trafficking in children consists of all acts involved in the procurement, transportation, forced movement, and/or selling and buying of children within and/or across border by fraudulent means, deception, coercion, direct and/or indirect threats, abuse of authority, for the purpose of placing a woman against her will without her consent in exploitative and abusive situations, such as commercial sexual abuse, forced marriage, bonded and forced labour, begging, camel jockeying and other sports, organ trade, etc.”

Shamim internalized trafficking in children in its broad perspective, which included all acts involved in capture, acquisition, recruitment and transportation of children within and across national borders with the intent to sell, exchange, or use for any illegal purposes, such as prostitution, servitude in the guise of marriage, bonded labour, or sale of human organs by means of violence or threat of violence25.

2.2.3. Operational Definition: In the context of Bangladesh, the BNWLA adapted the definition of the Global Alliance against Trafficking in Women, so that it could be applied to situations 23

Ibid.

Interview with Friedman 25 I. Shamim, F. Kabir. Child Trafficking: The Underlying Dynamics. ( Dhaka: Center for Women and Children Studies), 1998. p. - 88.

24

involving both women and children. Thus, the BNWLA defines trafficking as “All acts involved in the recruitment and/or transport of a woman (or child) within and across national borders for work or services (or marriage) by means of violence or threat of violence, abuse of authority or dominant position, debt bondage, deception or other forms of coercion” 26. Arriving at an appropriate definition of the phenomenon of trafficking is essential for identifying the magnitude of the problem and ways to address

Chapter 3 CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES AND REMEDIES OF TRAFFICKING

International dimension of Poverty, lack of education and large families are three main factors for why trafficking has been able to flourish in this country. The causes of trafficking and factors leading to this apparent increases in recent years are multiple and complicated.

Now a days, globalization and materialism are also main factors behind this growing problem. In Bangladesh, due to increasing landlessness and inadequate investment in rural industrialization, the scope for employment opportunities and skill development, particularly for rural women, is less. Women have traditionally worked as unpaid family labourers in the society.

And this is why; women are forced to migrate from rural areas to urban ones. This trend of migration creates vulnerable conditions for women and children, and provides opportunities to the traffickers to exploit women and children.

Most reports emphasize that, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of children and women being trafficked from Bangladesh into India and other countries.

The causes of trafficking and the factors leading to this apparent increases in recent years are multiple and complicated. These factors are embedded within the socioeconomic structure of the country and require an in-depth analysis. However, for the present purpose, the factors have been categorized into two groups. The first group, the ‘push’ factors, includes the conditions which are responsible for trafficking of people from one country to another country. These factors have been outlined in the previous discussion about Bangladesh and its regional context and will be

26

S. Ali, Trafficking In Children And Their Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Prostitution And Other Intolerable Forms Of Child Labour In Bangladesh: Country Report, ( Dhaka; Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association), 1998. p.- 63.

expanded further below. The second group refers to the set of ‘pull’ factors that support the demand for trafficked victims27.

3.1 Causes of Trafficking There are some economic and social problems which are responsible for women and children trafficking. These are as follows: 3.2.1 Poverty: Poverty is one of the vital problems of our country. Poverty happens to be the prime factor behind woman and child trafficking from villages of the country's frontier areas. At least 42% of our population lives below the subsistence level. Most of them live from hand to mouth and pass their days in hardship. Due to extreme poverty many of them prefer to go abroad for better life. About 22 percent of the total populations of the country are poor and destitute women. According to women affairs directorate, there are 17, 39,542 poor and destitute women in the country28.

Worldwide, rising unemployment and the decline of government- sponsored social services, have contributed to severe poverty in the developing world and an increase in labor exploitation.

Women bear the brunt of this economic instability. Desperate living conditions and the devaluation of women and girls, make them particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Families living in absolute poverty often lack the means to feed all of their children. Parents may decide to sell one child because they cannot afford to raise that child without risking the survival of every member of the family. In many places, girls are considered less valuable than boys, and are more likely to be sold.

3.2.2 Unemployment: Bangladesh has been facing acute unemployment problem for a long time. Population is increasing in alarming rate where as job opportunities in our country are very limited. Traffickers are exploiting the situation and allured trafficked persons for employment abroad. The study shows that the organized gangs of traffickers take advantage of the crushing poverty of their victims and lure them away with prospects of job opportunities. The study said that about 90 per cent of the women were household workers or unemployed. Most of these victims were wed-locked with men who had very low incomes. Families of 61percent of victims were 'landless'.

27

T.Bennett . Preventing Trafficking in Women and Children in Asia; Issues and Options. Impact on HIV 1999, p -13.

28 Dhaka, Feb 6 (BDNEWS)

3.2.3 Economic and Social Disparity: In the prevailing economic system the poor are becoming poor and the rich are getting richer. The poor section of people is moving within the vicious cycle. As a result the number of landless and uprooted people in our country is increasing day by day. The uprooted and displaced people take shelter in different slums in cities and towns. They work as day labourer or servant in the houses. In the most of the cases they become the victim of human trafficking. Other major factors behind the trafficking have been identified as illiteracy, landlessness, and over-population and low levels of income.

3.2.4 Overpopulation: Overpopulation was one more important reason behind women and children trafficking in Bangladesh. According to the study, about 59 per cent of the victims came from big families, 25 per cent from medium sized families and only six per cent from small families.

3.2.5 Violence: Violence in the home, often linked to economic instability, can also make women and children more vulnerable to trafficking. Fearing for their safety, women and children often run away from situations of domestic violence. In search of shelter and food, they may become targets of trafficking agents who deceptively offer them security.

3.2.6 Conflict: Conflict and increasing militarization worldwide play a significant role in human trafficking. Traffickers often take advantage of the desperate conditions created by conflict, preying upon those living in refugee camps. The arrival of soldiers is often associated with a sudden rise in child prostitution and sex tourism, and an expansion of sex trafficking in the region.

3.2.7 Sluggish security system: The security system in our border, land, river, sea airport is not so strong and modernized. Because of sluggish security system the traffickers get easy access to fulfill their mission.

3.2.8 Corruption of security and immigration personal: On many occasion security and immigration personnel are being bribed by human traffickers for which they allow the trafficked women and children to go abroad with false passport and visa.

3.2.9 Low employment opportunities In Bangladesh, due to increasing landlessness and inadequate investment in rural industrialization, the scope for employment opportunities and skill development, particularly for rural women, is less. Women have traditionally worked as unpaid family laborers in the society.

Employment opportunities, access to land, and credit facilities have traditionally been limited for women. However, in recent years, there have been increasing demands on the labor of women and children in the urban informal sector, garments industry, and as domestic servants, and a growing number of women and children are involved in the workforce in the cities 29. Data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) show that, in general, the female labor force had reached 21.3% in 1996 compared to 6.1% in 1980 30. Again, among adolescent girls aged 10 to 14 years, the labor force increased to 22.4% in 1996 compared to 11.1% in 1989 31. Thus, low employment opportunity for women in the rural areas and growing demand for workforce in the informal sector in the urban areas push women to migrate from rural areas to urban areas. This trend of migration creates vulnerable conditions for women and children and provides opportunities to traffickers to exploit women and children.

3.2.10 Social vulnerability of women and female children Khan and Arefeen have looked at women’s subordinate position in our society from a feministanthropological perspective32. The authors observed that patriarchy with all its ideological manifestations plays a crucial role in creating a vulnerable situation for women in a changing socioeconomic setting. Patriarchy defines an asymmetrical role and relationship for men and women in the society, which has been termed as gender class by the feminists. In our society, men are considered economic providers and women their dependents whose role is related to biological reproduction. This creates specific gender roles with strong values and norms attached to each. On this again is built the ideology of sexuality whereby women’s sexuality has to be controlled by men. Again this notion of control and of protection of women leads to vulnerable exploitative situation for women in which the slightest sexual deviation or social dislocation makes them ‘polluted’ and object of social degradation.

The socialization process in the family determines the role of a girl child as a future mother and wife. The girls grow up with a mentality of dependency in a male-dominant environment where their contributions toward the family are unrecognized as they perform the role of unpaid family help. Participation of girl children in household chores, both in rural and urban setup, is 29

S.Amin, I.Diamond, RT.Naved , M.Newby . Transition to Adulthood of Female Garment-Factory Workers in Bangladesh, (Stud fam Plann) 1998, pp - 185-200.

30 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Statistical yearbook of Bangladesh 19th ed. (Dhaka; Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics), 1998, p.- 668.

31 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Statistical pocketbook, (1997) ibid., p. – 419.

32 S.Amin, I.Diamond, RT.Naved , M.Newby, ibid, pp-189-191

seen as a process of preparing them for marriage by teaching them of becoming efficient ‘house wives’. The girls are exposed to the risks of being victimized even at the family. Sometimes the girls’ living places pose threats to their safety. Often in rural areas and urban slums, they have to live in fragile huts. In a community-based study on socioeconomic dimension of trafficking of girl children, one girl who was from rural areas of Rajshahi expressed, “I sleep in a room with my mother along with my two sisters. The condition of our house is not at all good. The fences and the bamboo-made walls of room have almost broken down.

Therefore, my mother always worries about our safety and keeps watch throughout the night. I can not sleep well out of fear and anxiety as well”33.

In the urban slums, the risk of abuse of girl children within the family by the stepfather or the other family members is most fatal. For economic survival and social protection, the girls need to be submissive in such a family environment. They are exposed to constant threat of becoming sexually active not only because of the sexual aggression of men, but also by other provocative factors. For example, in urban slums, joint families comprising parents, daughters, sons, and daughters-in-law live in a tiny single room which is embarrassing for the adolescent girls, because there is no privacy. A girl of an urban slum expressed, “As we are now old enough to understand, we feel very embarrassed to sleep in the same room where my parents and brother with his wife sleep. Feel disgraced and ashamed, but there is no way out. After my brother got married, he did not have the ability to find a separate room for himself. If I had the ability to rent a separate room, would have left this disgraced situation as early as possible”34.

In rural communities, early marriage, dowry system, and polygamy are commonly- practiced phenomena. Young girls and women are often the victims of gender oppression due to their low status in society. To avoid social pressure and stigma regarding the delayed marriage of women, parents try to arrange a marriage for their daughters at an early age, even before the legal age of 18 years. Often these marriages are unregistered, because the parents are ignorant about the importance of registration of marriage. Thus, it is impossible to validate many marriages, and men are easily able to remarry. Dowry is also a common practice. Parents are often unable to marry off their daughters, because of their inability to pay a dowry. Sometimes the girls are 33

Integrated Community and Industrial Development Initiative. Study on the socio-economic dimensions of Trafficking in girl children, (Dhaka; Integrated Community and Industrial Development Initiative), p.17.

34 Ibid.

married off to much older men to avoid the payment of dowry. This may lead to early widowhood, failure in conjugal life, or separation.

Divorce and desertion frequently on grounds of non-payment of dowry or post-marital demands for dowry are encouraged by the sanction of polygamy. According to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, men are required to obtain permission from the Union Parisad Chairman on the basis of consent from the first wife for remarrying. Men generally ignore this requirement, and if women resist, they are frequently abandoned 35. It has been found that both polygamy and dowry have led to an increased incidence of domestic violence and desertion.

Sometimes physical and mental illnesses and contagious diseases result in women and girls becoming outcasts.

In many instances, communities and families treat these single, widowed women as outcasts and as a social and economic burden. Hence, offers of marriage or employment prospects are tempting for them. Often frustration in love or failure in conjugal life pushes women toward the allure of a better life. A study of two unions in Rajshahi, conducted by the Association for Community Development, found that many young girl trafficked over land border were treated as a burden by their respective families, because they were unable to find paid work after they were deserted by their husbands36.

3.2.11 Economic Vulnerability of Women and Children In Bangladeshi society, women get the smallest share of resources. When resources are stretched thin, it is women; the most marginalized in the first place, who suffer first and most. The state policy intervention in the agricultural sector has resulted in strong polarization of classes. The new technologies introduced became the property of the rich. The poorest section of the population was marginalized. Men were forced to look for jobs outside agricultural labor, and women were left without any work at all. Consequently, women are being pushed to extreme marginal position. The general pauperization necessitated them to work for survival.

Thus, they entered the highly competitive labor market where they are forced to compete with the dominant male labor force. In the process, they are left with little choice but to take up extremely low paid, exploitative work as domestic servants, garment factory workers, prostitutes, 35

H.Hossain, Trafficking In Women And Children From Bangladesh: Causes And Measures For Combating Trafficking. (Dhaka; Ain o Salish Kendro), 1997. p. - 29.

36 Association for Community Development. Prostitute/commercial sex workers and illegally migrated women: two separate studies.( Rajshahi; Association for Community Development, Bangladesh), 1997. p.35

etc. A study reported that sometimes the parents forcefully engaged their girl children in odd jobs due to extreme economic hardship in urban slum areas.

This study also found that the girls who earn in the slum are given ‘higher value’ as prospective brides, although they had little or no role in the process of deciding about their future37.

3.2.12 Urbanization and Migration: The population growth rate of urban areas is three times higher (6-7%) than the national population growth of 2% per year 38. At present, about 20% (25 million) of the country’s total population of (129 million) live in the urban areas 39. The growth of urban slums and the homeless population are some of the gravest challenges that the country is now encountering. The environmental and socioeconomic conditions in the slum and squatter settlements are extremely poor and, in fact, very hazardous. These conditions are health hazards to the residents of these settlements and to those living outside. The densities are very high (up to 2,000 persons or more per acre or 5,000 persons per hectare). The per-capita living space is terribly low, even down to 10 square feet (or 1 sq. meter) in some settlements 40. Again, due to continuous in-migration of the illiterate rural poor and the increase in the number of the urban poor, the urban literacy rate has actually been declining and the total number of urban illiterates has also gone up from 1,389,000 in 1961 to 3,218,000 in 1974 and 5,429,000 in 198141.

People are continuously migrating from rural to urban areas for economic and social reasons.

A study, conducted by the Research Evaluation Associates for Development among vulnerable and floating groups of people in four cities of Bangladesh, reported that social factors are as important as economic factors for their vulnerability. However, this study observed that acute financial crisis, limited or no access to resources, unemployment, and crisis due to natural calamities are important economic factors for vulnerability.

This study also identified that social factors, such as torture by husbands and other family members, torture (including rape in some cases) by miscreants and deception at the community level, deception regarding property by relatives, neighbors and influential men, deception by 37

Integrated Community and Industrial Development Initiative. Study on the socio-economic dimensions of trafficking in girl children. ( Dhaka: Integrated Community and Industrial Development Initiative) (Undated), p.17.

38 N. Islam, N. I. Nazem. Urbanization and Urban Growth and Policy, N. Ialam, eds. The urban poor in Bangladesh. (University of Dhaka; Centre for Urban Studies,) 1995, pp. - 5-12.

39 Ibid, p. - 30 40

N. Islam. Human settlements and urban development in Bangladesh. (Dhaka: University of Dhaka), 1998, p.- 108.

41 Ibid.

lovers and agents, remarriage of husband/wife, pressure of dowry, and infertility, including son preference, might have attributed in trafficking. When the rural poor migrate to cities, traffickers take chances and lure women and children for money and jobs.

3.2.13 wage employment or bonded labor: There is an increasing demand for child labor for the sex trade, domestic work, and other exploitative events, because child labor is cheap and easily controlled. Bangladeshi children are engaged in construction sites, carpet trade, and glass bangles industries in Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh, and Karachi42. In large cities, such as Karachi, it is not uncommon to find Bangladeshi women and children recruited as housemaids. Due to lack of identity papers, these women and children are often exploited and abused.

Camel racing is a profitable sport in some middle-eastern countries, particularly in Dubai.

This requires lightweight jockeys, and has led to an increased trafficking of Bangladeshi boys, as young as five years old 3.2.14 Labor Migration and Prostitution: Very little information is available on labor migration of Bangladeshi women. Although women’s claim to work and to migrate transitionally is a legitimate human right, it is not officially recognized in Bangladesh. However, migrations of men and women have completely different dimensions because of differences in its implications and consequences. When men migrate and return to home country they are easily reintegrated.

But, women are at risk of being stigmatized, particularly when they migrate alone. On the other hand, continued migration of men seeking employment in big cities within and outside the country leads to an increased demand for cheap and available sex. Often male migrant laborers desire sex workers who share a common linguistic and cultural background. This involves the migration of sex workers from the home country.

3.2.15 Cultural Myths: There are reports that one of the main causes of the increasing demand for young girls is the myth that intercourse with a virgin can cure a man of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and rejuvenate him. It is also a widely prevalent belief that sex with a female child does not expose a person to STDs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

42

S. Ali. Survey in the Area of Child and Women Trafficking, (Dhaka; Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association), 1997. p.- 100.

3.3 Modes of Trafficking and the Procurement Process: Trafficking in Bangladesh exists for the purposes of forced labor and forced prostitution. Although exact figures on the scope of the problem vary widely, the consensus is that the trafficking problem is growing rapidly. An estimated 90 percent of trafficked women were forced to engage in prostitution. 43 Reportedly, 400,000 Bangladeshi women are engaged in forced prostitution in India, and 300,000 Bangladeshi boys have been trafficked to India.44 According to one report, every day 50 Bangladeshi girls are lured across the Indian border and sold. India shares 4,222 kilometers of its border with 28 districts of Bangladesh, and most of that border is open to traffic. Bangladeshi girls who are trafficked to India by organized networks usually end up in brothels in Kolkata or Mumbai.45 Many victims are raped by their traffickers or by Bangladeshi and Indian border patrol guards.46 An estimated 40,000 female children are exploited in Pakistani brothels. From January 2000 to June 2003, an estimated 2,405 Bangladeshi children disappeared. Of those, 510 boys and 451 girls were confirmed to have been trafficked47 Street children living in the capital are among the prime targets of organized child-trafficking rings. According to some surveys, Pakistan and oil-rich Arab states are the principal destinations of Bangladeshi children. Boys are mostly taken to the Persian Gulf (particularly the United Arab Emirates) to work as camel jockeys or farm workers, while the girls often end up working in brothels in India and Pakistan.48 There have been reports of trafficking in organs in Bangladesh. 49 A group of anthropologists from the United States claim to have encountered “kidney theft” in Bangladesh.50 Traffickers adopt different strategies and tricks to allure and enroll young children and women (and their families) into the trafficking process. The procurement process of women for 43

“Bangladesh Most Vulnerable Country for Trafficking”, ( Independent Bangladesh), 26 March 2004.

“Battle against the Plague of Women and Child Trafficking,”( Independent Bangladesh), 5 July 2002.

45 Anindita Dasgupta, “Dreams—and Hunger—Drive Trafficking into India,”( Inter Press Service), 9 December 2003.

46 Battle against the plague of women and child Trafficking, Ibid.

47 “Some 1,000 Children Trafficked from Bangladesh in 3 Years,” (Xinhua News Agency), 26 January 2004.

48 “Seven Foreigners Released after Being Detained on Suspicion of Child Trafficking,” (Associated Press Worldstream,) 30 September 2002.

49 Ibid, p.- 45 44

50

Nancy Scheper-Hughes, (“The Organ of Last Resort,” UNESCO Courier, July/August 2001, [http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_07/uk/doss34.htm.]

trafficking in the sex industry in Bangladesh involves their entrapment for selling them to brothels nationally or to neighboring countries, especially to India. In Bangladesh, the traffickers hunt for their clients at the river ports, especially the Sadar Ghat area of Dhaka, bus stations, and the railway stations across the country. At these locations, the traffickers look for migrants who come from the rural areas for jobs or for poor young people abandoned by their families and allure them with false promises of better life. The victims collected from these spots are usually sold to Bangladeshi brothels. Procurement of victims in villages and towns in the border areas of the country is more frequently associated purpose of supplying sex workers for the sex industry in India and the Middle East. The following case studies provide examples of strategies adopted by the traffickers involved in the national and international human trade in Bangladesh.

3.3.1 Employment Prospects: Traffickers look for girls from poorer and vulnerable families in villages and tempt them and their parents with offers of lucrative jobs and a comfortable life in neighboring countries, such as India and Pakistan. At times, the girls are so motivated by promises of the trafficker that they leave home without consulting their parents. A study from Nepal on the factors that influence victims of trafficking in deciding to migrate from their place of origin concluded that the majority of trafficked people were deceived by relatives and village men. Another review on trafficking of the Nepalese women and girls found that the women and girls who were victims of trafficking were deceived by someone they trusted. This study reported that pimps and brokers persuaded them with alluring assurances of happy and married life, a secure and better income job, the life of an actress and other false promises51.

In addition to economic vulnerability of the family, the traffickers also look for families in which factors, such as domestic abuse and violence, are occurring. Two case studies quoted in Shamim, Kabir and Ali is illustrative of common situations: Case Study 1. Employment prospect Moonward Khatun (16), daughter of Islam Sarder, Mazeda (19), daughter of Alam, and Khatun (14), daughter of Ali, were taken from the village Mrigedanga, Sathkhira district. They were allured with promises of well-paid jobs, marriages, and a better life in India by a female

51

Women’s Publishing House and Media Resource Organization. Efforts to Prevent Trafficking in Women and Girls: a pre-study for media activism. (Katmandu; ASMITA), 1998. p. 141.

trafficker, Jahanara. They never returned to their home village. Villagers believe that they were sold to brothels or to trafficking gangs in India52.

Case Study 2. Employment prospect Titu was one year old when his mother died, leaving him in the care of his father and grandmother. Titu’s family was very poor--his father was a rickshaw puller, and his grandmother worked as a maid. “So he was left alone and without much care,” said his grandmother. When Titu was seven, his grandmother was approached by an elderly village woman who offered to take Titu to Dubai for employment. “Everyone knew Shonai Bibi in the area. She had taken many children to Dubai. So, we immediately accepted her offer.” Shonai Bibi promised that after three months, Titu’s family would begin receiving monthly remittances of about Tk. 2,000.00.

Titu says that, in Dubai, he and a number of other children (some from his home village) were put under the care of a woman.

They were instructed to call her ‘mother.’ He reported he was well-fed and well-taken care of, but forced to race camels. “used to get frightened when the camels ran very fast. They trained me for hours together.” Titu was quite successful as a camel jockey, and was given a colour TV and gold jewellery by the man whose camels he rode. (These were, however, subsequently taken away from him by the woman whose care he was in.) However, during one race he fell and was trampled. Suffered a head and leg injury, the extent of which is not known. He was treated in a Dubai hospital. Shortly after his injury, Titu was escorted back to Bangladesh and returned one night to his home village by an unknown man who left when they reached Titu's house. Titu is now living with his father and grandmother again. He exhibits symptoms of shock and trauma, and others believed to be related to the head injury sustained during his fall in Dubai53.

3.3.2 Love Affair: Traffickers also pretend to be in love with young girls and asking them to elope. The girls believe them and leave their parents/home with their boyfriends full of illusions about a happy married life. Sometimes marriage is proposed, the girls are taken to India, and then they are sold to traffickers. In some cases, traffickers marry the girls after crossing the border, enjoy family life for a month or so, and then sell their young brides to other traffickers or to brothels. The following case studies have been collected by Shamim and Kabir54.

52

Ibid Ibid, p.- 42 54 An Overview: Trafficking of Women and Children in Bangladesh [http://www.icddrb.org/images/sp111.pdf last accessed on o4.04.09] [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf/SAsia/repro2/fleshtrade.htm] 53

Case Study-1 Abdul (age 32 years) maintains a close relation with Helal, who stays in Hakimpur, India. He often comes to Bangladesh with the intent to take women and children to India. Helal proposed Abdul to leave the smuggling business and, in return, offered him a large amount of money if he would help him in the trafficking business. He offered him Tk. 30,000.00 for collecting a fair and good-looking young girl. Abdul was very tempted by the offer and discussed the matter with his friend. Both of them planned to traffic Nasima with the help of Helal. Abdul posed as a lover and proposed to marry Nasima. Eventually, Nasima was allured with false promises and trafficked to India55.

Case Study - 2 Jahanara (16) from Magurkhali village in Keshabpur comes from a poor family. Her old and sick father was unable to work. For survival, she started to work as a housemaid in Jessore where she met a hotel boy and fell in love. The young man suggested that if she went to India with him they would get married after finding a good job. They first went to Bongoan in India after crossing the border through Benapole. Then they travelled to Darjeeling and got married. They stayed there for one and a half months. She was later brought to Kolkata to visit the city. They stayed in a hotel where some strangers came to see her husband. He introduced them as friends, talked with them for some time, and left the hotel saying that something had come up suddenly.

After some time, the strangers came back and informed Jahanara that her husband had sent them to collect her. When she inquired about her husband they informed her that he had gone to buy tickets as they are going to travel to another city by train. Unfortunately, she did not find her husband on the train, and in the evening she was told that he was in a different carriage. After a long time when her husband did not come, she became suspicious of their company and ultimately realized that she was trapped. At about midnight when they were asleep, she escaped from their clutches. Later, she learnt that the train was bound for Bombay. Somehow, she managed to return to Bangladesh via Kolkata56.

3.3.3 Promise of Marriage: In addition to the strategy of alluring girls from poor families with love affairs, promises of marriage and a better future, the traffickers also take full advantage of the cultural practice of arranged marriages by parents. Sometimes they gain the confidence of

55 56

Ibid.

Ibid.

parents, and manage to develop a close relationship with them before offering to marry their daughters. The poor parents agree, because the offer may appear to be a good opportunity for the family because of low or no demand of dowry. Thus, some parents innocently hand over the girls to the traffickers and find out their real motives too late.

Case Study 1 In October 1996, in the village of Tuzulpur, villagers caught a trafficker accompanying a young girl named Hasina aged 15 years. She had studied up to class VIII. Her father Hazrat Ali hailed from Altapur village, Keshabpur upazila of Jessore district. Samad of Satkhira allured her with the promise of marriage. So, she came to Satkhira with him hoping that her fate would change.

But she soon found out that his intention was to traffic her to India and sell her to a brothel. She then told her story to the villagers who got hold of Samad and sent Hasina back to their father’s home in Keshabpur. However, the trafficker was not handed over to the police57.

Case Study 2 Fatema (14) is one of the three daughters of Rupchand, a rickshaw puller from Satkhira. Last year, he met an Indian woman who introduced herself as ‘Pakhi’s mother’ of Doharkanda villages in Chabbis Pargana, India. She used to visit Rupchand’s house frequently. Once she proposed a marriage arrangement for his daughter in India. Rupchand was poor and did not have enough money for the wedding of his daughter. So, he readily agreed to the proposal considering the chance of a lifetime. Pakhi’s mother took Fatema to India, and since then Rupchand does not know anything of her whereabouts. After a few months, Pakhi’s mother again came back to the village but by that time Rupchand had passed away. When Fatema’s mother inquired of her daughter, she was assured that Fatema was doing fine, without providing any further information. After then whenever she wanted to know about her daughter’s well-being, Pakhi’s mother tactfully avoided her. She is now convinced that Fatema is a victim of trafficking and was sold in India. She did not report it to the police, because she is poor and vulnerable58.

3.3.4 Kidnapping: Kidnapping, one of the methods for trafficking, is normally done by deception and by force. The number of kidnapping cases has increased significantly. One such example is given below.

57

Ibid, p.- 54.

58

Ibid.

Case Study 1.

A trafficker, named Shahidul, was caught red-handed by the people of Rishipara village, Keshabpur upazila of Jessore district. In Swapon's custody, the police found a boy named Rubel of 10 years old and rescued him. The boy is the son of a shopkeeper Abdus Salam from Khadimpur village at Keshabpur. People of Bejdanga village, Keshabpur, caught another trafficker, Hajera. She was carrying Rupa across the border to India. She was also handed over to the local police.

3.3.5 Tourism: To understand the procurement process, it is important to know the purposes of trafficking. One of the major outcomes from the trafficking of women for traders is a large profit.

A special target of traders are young girls, because, among customers of commercial sex establishment, there is a perception that young girls are virgins and are less likely to be infected with HIV. Poverty, inadequate jobs, migration for jobs, fake marriage, abandonment by the family or husband, and kidnapping are just a few issues related to trafficking of women. The procurers take advantages of the misfortunes of women.

Case Study 1 The people of Labsa village rescued Anita and Nupur, two young girls, from the hands of the traffickers. These girls were brought to Satkhira to be trafficked across the border. They were trafficked by known persons pretending to take them for a tour. The girls, believing them, went with them. The villagers, with the assistance of the local police, rescued them and handed the girls over to their parents59.

Case Study 2 Sumi (11), daughter of Moharuddin, is from the village Khanbari of Mymensingh district. Sumi is the daughter of a day laborer. She is the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. She proceeded toward Dhaka in search of work. When she was wandering aimlessly at Kamalapur Railway Station, a woman took her home, assured her work, and told her not to flee away from the place of work. The woman sold her to a brothel in Dhaka. She was allowed to go and visit her parents after seven months on the condition that she would return to the brothel. When she returned home, her parents and others in the village suspected that all was not well but she had no alternative but to return to her work in Dhaka.

59

[http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf/SAsia/repro2/ fleshtrade.htm last visited on 23 May 2010].

3.4 Consequences of Trafficking Trafficking is a violation of human rights, and has various consequences at the individual, family, community and country levels. Trafficked migrant children are among the most severelyaffected victims of exploitative child labor. Living in a foreign country with foreign customs and a language they do not speak, they are easily deceived and forced to work as bonded laborers, often treated like slaves. These victims are deprived of education, are stigmatized, and are alienated from their communities of origin. In their isolation, they do not know where to go for comfort or assistance due to inaccessibility of the existing services to them. Since they are illegal migrants, some experience racism from police, authorities, and the communities where they stay.

3.4.1 Health: Physical And Psychosocial: The body mends soon enough. Only the scars remain...But the wounds inflicted upon the soul take much longer to heal than wounds to the body60. Victims of trafficking work under conditions which are hazardous to their mental and physical health. Nevertheless, there were no specific reports on the health consequences of trafficking, although a number of problems have been quoted repeatedly. Perhaps, because of the link between trafficking and the sex industry, the singular most frequently reported health consequence is the role of trafficking in HIV epidemics.

“Recently, however, growing concern about violence against women worldwide has put trafficking on the international agenda, and its connection with the sex industry that is such a driving force of HIV epidemics has added urgency to global anti-trafficking efforts, particularly in Asia. The trafficking of young women into prostitution has a formidable impact on HIV transmission. Studies have shown that brothel sex workers are most likely to become infected during the first six months of work, when they probably have the least bargaining power and, therefore, have more customers and fewer customers who use condoms61.

Another study reported that about 80% of the street child prostitutes were suffering from problems relating to reproductive organs, such as vaginal oozing, vaginal itching, and purulent discharge from vagina62. Such symptoms are highly suggestive of having reproductive tract infection by the street child prostitutes. Children and women trafficked for purposes other than 60

Violence against women. [http://www.who.int/violence_prevention/pages/violence_information_package.htm last visited on May 23, 2010] 61 Ibid, p. – 27.

62 A.K.M.M Ali, R. Sarkar. Misplaced Childhood: A Study On The Street Child Prostitutes In Dhaka City, (Dhaka; Integrated Community and Industrial Development Initiative), 1997, p. – 29.

commercial sex, for instance, domestic and industrial work may also have an increased risk of HIV infection because of their exposure to instances of forced sex and perhaps also the potential initiation into substance misuse, including contact with intravenous drug users. However, a search for printed documents and Internet references on this issue was unsuccessful.

The health consequences of trafficking may also be more serious for young women than for men. Young women are at a greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS than young men for physiological and social reasons, which include gender discrimination, lack of formal education, poor negotiation skills, and economic dependency. Female sex workers usually get involved in this business before they are physically mature. This early sexual initiation, coupled with malnourishment and poor health, has a direct impact on reproductive health, including adolescent pregnancy, exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, a higher risk of neonatal and maternal mortality. A study, done by the Population Council, found that sexually-abused children were at a higher risk of early initiation of sexual encounter, multiple partners, unprotected sex, substance abuse, depression, and low self esteem. The study done on street child prostitutes in Dhaka city, found that more than 20% of the street child prostitutes died before/just reaching adulthood. The study also reported that about 22% of them became physically invalid and fitted only as beggar 63.

Despite vulnerability to diseases, medical services to sex workers in particular and trafficked people in general are poor.

There are obvious psychosocial dimensions to the health consequences of trafficking.

Children, who are employed in child labor, are deprived of the joys of childhood and usually are low paid. Sex work is part of a vicious circle of exploitation and harassment by clients, managers and, at times, law-enforcing personnel themselves. Sex workers experience prejudice from their family and community. Exploitation, extortion, negative self-perception, and societal condemnation ultimately disable many sex workers and lead them to drug abuse, thereby reducing their chance of adopting other roles in society. Trafficking may be associated with psychosocial consequences that are commonly linked to victims of violence. Results of research suggest that victims of violence often suffer from depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, compulsive and obsessive disorders, low esteem, eating problems, sexual dysfunction, and posttraumatic stress disorders64.

3.4.2 Trafficking And Development: Bangladesh, like other neighboring countries, is at risk of entering into the HIV/AIDS era. Prostitution of Bangladeshi girls in foreign countries, with a 63

Ibid.

I. Heise, K. Moore, N. Toubia. Sexual Coercion and Reproductive Health, (New York; Population Council), 1995, p. – 59.

64

background of trafficking, is one of the major reasons for a great threat of this pandemic disease in the country. The association between trafficking and the threat of HIV/AIDS conjures up a picture of a looming disaster that can affect the whole direction of development in such a lessdeveloped country, like Bangladesh, and can have a significant impact on economic and social structure. Labor-intensive work will be affected due to the shortage of a healthy and productive workforce. A study in Africa found that, in areas with a high prevalence of HIV, crop yield is less. Soil fertility is declining. Pest and plant disease is spreading which results in a lower yield.

Crops of low-nutritional value are replacing labor-intensive traditional crop. Support systems will falter with growing high demands, overburden of caregivers will aggravate the situation, and the society will have to bear the economic burden of caring for orphans65 .

Trafficking also deprives the trafficked population of the opportunity to pursue education and develop socially and psychologically to achieve their full potential. Thus, it deprives a nation of vital human resources for development and contributes to the persistence of a vicious circle of exploitation and poverty that generates a mal-distribution of wealth and results in feminization of poverty66. Most studies outline the health consequences of trafficking and the physical and emotional aspects of violence, human rights abuse, and sexual exploitation. Further research on morbidity and mortality effects of trafficking and its impact on overall national productivity is needed. There is also very limited and inconclusive information on the consequences of organ transplant and employment of children in sports, such as camel races.

Chapter 4

PROVISIONS IN LAW 4.1 Policy and Law 65

J. Decosas . HIV and development. AIDS 1996, pp. - 69-74.

P. Richard. Empowerment, community mobilization and social change in the face of HIV/AIDS.1996; 10 (Suppl 30):27-31.

66

Women’s trafficking is a national as well as global problem. For the last two-three years trafficking in women has so alarmingly increased that it has become a matter of great concern for the peace loving people of our country as well the government. Bangladesh government is very much sincere to combat women and children trafficking and has taken a number of commendable steps in this regard. Bangladesh government has already enacted a law on women children trafficking which contains life term imprisonment for the offender. In this chapter denotes about the law regarding trafficking and policy taken by the Govt. and others authorities.

It also says how we able to protect trafficking and for what we failed to protect trafficking.

4.2 Role of Government Bangladesh govt. in co-operation with some non government organizations has undertaken a number of initiatives to combat trafficking in women and children. These are as follows 4.2.1 Setting up a Police Monitoring Cell: A monitoring cell has been set up at the police Headquarter. The main functions of the cell includes-collection of information regarding trafficking of women and children and the movement of criminals involved in human trafficking, arrest of criminals rescue and recovery of trafficked persons, assisting prosecution of relevant cases, rehabilitations of trafficked persons. It also maintain data base of trafficked cases. A monitoring unit has been formed in each 64 dist headquarters and it sends updated statistics to police head quarter and the police headquarter sends it to the Ministry of Home.

4.2.2 Apprehension of Traffickers by Law Enforcing Agencies All the law enforcing agencies like police, BDR, RAB and Coastguard are quite active in apprehending the traffickers and preventing any efforts of trafficking in women and children in their area of responsibilities. Our Intelligence organizations are also rendering good services in this regard by providing necessary information about traffickers, their godfathers and different routes used by them in human trafficking.

4.2.3 Screening in Air and Land Ports: A transparent and cautious screening process has been installed at all the international airports. The screening process includes-checking of persons at the airline check-in counter, screening at the immigration counter for checking validity of passport and visa and checking before boarding the aircraft . Due to that screening process at the airport and land port from 15 June to23 Jan 2007 a total of 3234 passengers including women and children were prevented from going abroad because of lack of proper documents.

4.2.4 Recovery and Rehabilitation: Because of preventive measures taken by the government a total of 539 trafficked persons were recovered from 15 June 2004 to23 Jan 2007. 367 cases were instituted in different courts for trafficking incidents and 400 persons were arrested. Of the recovered victims 519 trafficked persons were rehabilitated sending them to their parents and guardians, 12 trafficked persons were sent to the safe home of the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and 98 trafficked persons were send to the safe home of NGO. 4.2.5 Awareness Creation and Motivation Programme: In 2005 a national policy was formulated with the aim of creating mass awareness to all classes of people for combating trafficking in women and children. The govt. and non govt. organizations are implementing the programmed. The Ministry of Religious Affairs is utilizing the services of Imams and others religious teachers to motivate people. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with the help of local administration has been implementing a number of projects to create mass awareness The LGRD Ministry is utilizing the services of Union parishad, Municipalities for motivation and awareness creation. The Ministry of Education has involved primary and secondary level school teachers for motivation and awareness creation among students. The Ministry of Information is mobilizing the print and electronic media to publicize the issue across the country.

Besides, Ansar and VDP under Ministry of Home are also playing a significant role in creating mass awareness about human trafficking.

4. 2.6 District Women And Children Anti-Trafficking Committee: This committee comprising DC, SP, PP, representatives of BDR, NGO and other district level officials is entrusted with the task of monitoring and implementing the anti- trafficking programmed at district level.

4.2.7 Upozila Motivational Committee On Trafficking In Women And Children: This committee comprising UNO, representatives of local government bodies, UP Chairman, representatives of NGO, press club, local elites, religious leaders, school teachers is working to combat trafficking in women and children at Upazila level.

4.2.8 Municipality/Paurashava Motivational Committee On Trafficking In Women And Childreen: This committee consists of Municipality Chairman, ward commissioners, reprehensive of school teachers, NGO, press club and Ansar-VDP is monitoring the activities at urban level. Union motivational committee on trafficking in women and children. This committee comprising Union parishad Chairman wards members, representative of school

teachers, NGO, Ansar-VDP and other local religious leaders. The members of the committee organize motivational workshop and discuss the issue at the monthly Union parishad meeting.

4.2.9 Repatriation Of Trafficked Persons: Foreign missions of Bangladesh have been tasked to monitor any information regarding trafficked victims. On receiving such information from our missions the ministry of Home Affairs takes necessary steps for quick repatriation of the trafficked victims.

4.2.10 Repatriation and Reintegration of Bangladeshi Children in Camel Racing In Gulf Countries: Bangladesh government with the technical support of UAE has taken necessary steps to repatriate the Bangladeshi children used as camel jockey. So far 196 children were repatriated and re-integrated by handing over to their families A committee headed by joint secretary (pol) Ministry of Home was formed to repatriate and rehabilitee the Bangladeshi children who were involved in camel racing in UAE. The local administrators like DC, SP,UNO and OC have been engaged in rehabilitation and reintegration process.

4.3 Laws Regarding Trafficking Of Women in Bangladesh 4.3.1 Constitution of Bangladesh: The Bangladesh constitution provides that the "State Shall endeavor to prevent gambling and prostitution.

4.3.2 Penal Code Of Bangladesh: "Reading the various provisions of different laws, the prostitute is considered a victim, however, despite rigid provisions, the Penal Code of Bangladesh provides in the following sections protection to women who are victims of the sexual offences of illicit intercourse, such as: Section 364A of Bangladesh Penal code- Whoever, kidnaps or abducts any person under the age of ten, in order that such a person may be or subjected to slavery or to the lust of any person shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life or for rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 14 years and may not be less than 7 years.

Section 366A of Bangladesh Penal code - Whoever, by any means whatsoever, induces any minor girl under the age of eighteen years to go from any place or to do any act with the intent that such a girl may be or knowing that it is likely that she will be, forded or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 373 of Bangladesh Penal code - Whoever buys, hires or otherwise obtains possession of any person under the ate of eighteen years with the intent that such person shall at

any age be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any person or knowing it likely that such person will at any age be employed or used for such purpose with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend 10 years and fine. Any prostitute or any person keeping or managing a brothel, who buys, hires or otherwise obtains possession of a female under the age of 18 years, shall until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have obtained possession of such female with the intent that she shall be used for the purpose of prostitution.

The Bangladeshi cabinet has approved the death penalty for crimes against women including trafficking, rape and murder. They raised the penalty from 10 years in prison following an increase in trafficking in which the victims included girls as young as six.67 Convicted traffickers can receive the death penalty. Only one person has received this sentence.68 The Penal Code of 1860 contains provisions for kidnapping, which in general covers trafficking also. In spite of there being provisions in the Penal Code, these were not being effective in stopping trafficking because of various implementation problems.

4.3.3 Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1933 This Act was enacted for suppression of brothels and of trafficking in women and girls for immoral purposes. Section 11 provides that if any person detains a female under the age of 18 years against her will, he shall be punished with imprisonment, which may extend 3 years or with fine of taka 1000 or with both. Section 12 of the Act provides punishments for encouraging or abetting the seduction or prostitution of a girl less than 18 years.

4.3.4 The Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance, 1983: In 1983 a new Ordinance, the Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance was promulgated. It replaced the relevant sections of the Penal Code. This law increased the punishment to life imprisonment and death penalty for kidnapping or abducting women, trafficking of women and children, attempt to cause death, acid throwing, rape etc.69 The Cruelty to Women Ordinance, passed in 1983, calls for sentences of 14 years to life imprisonment for kidnapping or abduction of women, but this is rarely carried out, as there are many loopholes.70 67

68

"Bangladesh Proposes death for crime against women," (Reuters), 31 March 1998

CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific Bangladesh CEDAW Report, 1 April 1997, Ministry of Women and Children.

70 Trafficking in Women and Children: The Cases of Bangladesh, p.21, UBINIG, 1995 69

4.3.5 Woman and Child Repression (Special Provisions) Act, 1995: In 1995 another law, the Woman and Child Repression (Special Provisions) Act 1995 was enacted. It provides for capital punishment to offenders. It debars the granting of bail to persons accused of heinous offenses against women and children. The penalty imposed in section 8 of this act for trafficking and associated offenses is life imprisonment and fine. Section 9 stipulates a penalty of 10 years with a minimum of 7 years imprisonment for abduction to commit immoral act on women and children. This Act Provides for the setting up of separate courts to try cases coming under it, one in each district. So far ten such courts have been established. It is proposed to review their performance and effectiveness before setting up the courts in other districts.71 4.3.6 International Laws and Conventions: Bangladesh has ratified many international laws and conventions. For example, Bangladesh has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with Reservations of Article 2, 13(a) and 16.1 (9c) and 16.1 and Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Bangladesh has also played an effective role at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and endorsed the Plan of Action. In addition, in recent years, a number of laws have been promulgated, and various policies and regulations have been approved to ensure equal rights of women in all spheres of life and also to eliminate violence against them.

Currently, the government has undertaken a project called “Child Development: Coordinated Program to Combat Child Trafficking.� The program would start as a pilot project in 12-15 high risk areas for trafficking. The project will establish a system of multi-sectoral task forces at the national, district and upazila levels to conduct motivational programs and support the efforts of organizations working in the areas of prevention, rescue, repatriation, and rehabilitation of trafficking victims.

The project will be based at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, and the Steering Committee will also include representatives from the Ministries of Home and Foreign Affairs, Youth, Education, Local Government, Information, Health, Labor and Manpower; and from the Police, Ansar, VDP, Bangladesh Rifles, Planning Commission, UNICEF, ILO, and NORAD. 4.4 Official Response and Action 71

CEDAW. ibid

The process of repatriation for victims of traffic, who are often held in jail where they are continuously abused and re-victimized, is lengthy due to a general lack of action and interest of Bangladeshi embassies, and the bureaucracy between the Ministries of Women and Child Affairs, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Social Welfare. 72 Hundreds, and maybe thousands, of Bangladeshi women and children are held in foreign prisons, jails, shelters and detention centers awaiting repatriation. Many have been held for years. In India, 26 women, 27 girls, 71 boys and 13 children of unknown gender are held in Lilua Shelter, Calcutta; Sheha Shelter, Calcutta; Anando Ashram, Calcutta; Alipur Children's Home, Delhi; Nirmal Chaya Children's Home, Delhi; Prayas Observation House for Boys; Delhi; Tihar Jail, Delhi; Udavam Kalanger, Bangalore; Umar Khadi, Bangaore; Kishalay, West Bengal; Kuehbihar, West Bengal and Baharampur, West Bengal.73 Barisal Police arrested two traffickers and rescued 100 men, women and children who were to be sent to India illegally. The victims were kept in Sagorika Hotel after being lured by the promise of jobs in India. They came from Sandip, Hatia, and different islands of Noakhali, and were transported by ship from Chittagong. The traffickers received 600-1000 Taka from each person as transportation cost.74 In 1992, Bombay, India, police intercepted the traffic of 25 children, 5 to 8 years old. The children and trafficker were held in the same jail. Three years later, 12 of the children were returned to their homes. 75 The Government is aware of the problem of trafficking and has taken up measures to prevent it. One such measure is the strengthening of border posts. However, the sheer length of Bangladesh's border with India and Burma makes it impossible to prevent people crossing the borders. Another measure is the strengthening of legislation and increasing punishments for trafficking.76 In July 1993 a case was filed against a woman, who was trafficked three young girls to India in previous months.77 4.5 Role of N.G.O At a recently held workshop on child trafficking organized by the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum in December, 1996 a South-East Asian and a National Action Plan were prepared for 72

Fawzia Karim Firoze & Salma Ali of the Bangladesh National Women Layer Association", ( Bangladesh Country Paper; Law and Legislation)" p. – 123.

73

Ibid, p. - 73.

Daily Ittefak, (15 December 1993), p. 7.

75 Fawzia Karim Firoze & Salma Ali, Ibid.

76 CEDAW. ibid 77 Trafficking in Women and Children: The Cases of Bangladesh, p.28, (Bhorer Kagoj, 29 October 1993, UBINIG, 1995) 74

NGOs active in the area of trafficking. It was decided to undertake networking and training on databases/information and experience sharing by a Core Group with representatives from Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The first meeting of the regional Core Group will take place in March 1997 and training is to be arranged between August and December 1997. The Bangladesh National Plan focuses on legal protection through implementation of existing laws; awareness rising on trafficking; awareness raising and training on laws related to trafficking. It is proposed that law-enforcing agencies in collaboration with NGOs mobilize the community through local government bodies, educational institutions, and religious institutions and at the national level through the media.78 In Bangladesh, there is only one shelter with the means to help victims of trafficking. The women and children have awaited repatriation there for as long as 4 1/2 years.79 Some national NGOs, e.g. BNWLA, ACD, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, UDDIPAN, Srizony, Proshanti, Mukti, etc., have been working in rescue, repatriation, and rehabilitation. Some NGOs manage shelter-home for both male and female rescued victims. To some extent they help the victims to get reintegrated with the society by helping them to get job and also in locating their family and relatives. The BNWLA is a leading organization involved in repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration. In recent months, the Association has done some commendable work in the rescue and repatriation of trafficked women and children. Examples of rescue and repatriation and also helping the police to arrest one trafficker are given below.

4.5.1 Rescue: Rescue is a thorny issue, and has its limitations and unacceptability, largely due to the attitude and violent behavior of the law-enforcing agencies. Newspapers often carry items about “many women and children are rescued by the police”, but what happens to the rescued persons is largely unknown. These rescue processes are often violent, aggressive, and ‘maledominated’80 . Sometimes the minors are sent to the state-run remand homes or an NGO shelter.

Most are unable to go back home because of a whole series of problems, and when they are released they are again at risk of being picked up by the traffickers.

4.5.1.1 Interview with Rescued Traffic Victims: A team of three researchers from the Operations Research Project (ORP) of ICDDR, B: Centre for Health and Population Research

78

79

80

CEDAW.ibid Fawzia Karim Firoze & Salma Ali, Ibid Bhattacharjya M. Trafficking in South Asia: a conceptual clarity workshop, (New Delhi; Jagori), 1998. p. -57.

visited the BNWLA shelter home at Mirpur to interview a rescued traffic victim. The interviews followed a checklist, which tried to cover the following information: 1. Family structure/pattern 2. Age 3. Socioeconomic condition 4. Education 5. Address or place from where he/she was trafficked 6. Route of trafficking 7. End designation Case Study 1.

“A little boy, aged 6-9 years, all he can now remember about his family is that he had a father, a mother, and two siblings. The father was a school-teacher, and the mother raised chickens and ducks. One day he was playing outside all by himself, two strange men came and took him away from his family. In Dubai, he was employed as a camel jockey. One day while riding a camel he fell down and was seriously injured, and was taken to a hospital.”81 When this boy was hospitalized, an international news media broadcasted this case. The BNWLA later got involved in repatriating this boy back to Bangladesh from Dubai. Usually, after the rescue the victims are sent back to the family, if possible.

But in this case he has been living in the shelter home for a year now; as he does not have a little shelter home tried to locate his parents. Now a new problem has evolved. Three different people are now claiming to be his guardian. The counselor suspects that one of them could be a trafficker. The following case is about a mother and a daughter who were trafficked from Chittagong. The BNWLA rescued them from Eidhi home in Karachi, Pakistan. In this interview, the mother is the main respondent. memory about his family, how was abducted or where his village was. However, the people in the Case Study 2 “On 10 November 1996, the BNWLA received information about the activities of child traffickers. The information was immediately passed onto the Special Branch of the city police.

The lawyers of BNWLA along with Special Branch officers went to the spot, but the initial 81

Interviewed in September 2000, An Overview: Trafficking of Women and Children in Bangladesh [http://www.icddrb.org/images/sp111.pdf accessed on o4.04.09]

attempt to apprehend the traffickers failed as the local people were non-cooperative. The two children were actually on their way to Dubai to be employed as camel jockeys. The BNWLA lawyers and the police learned that two children were actually taken to Tongi by one Nargis. The BNWLA faced an obstacle as the police of Gulshan thana needed permission to enter Tongi thana area. After completing the formalities, the Gulshan police entered Tongi but Nargis had fled with both the kids, but the police was able to arrest another woman named Anwara Begum, a member of the trafficking ring. The investigation team found that several children were trafficked by Anwara Begum. The team rescued two boys from her custody. Later, two other boys were also found near a slum where Nargis had abandoned them. As a follow-up action, the BNWLA lawyers had opposed the bail petition of traffickers, and the remand was granted under section 12 of the Women and Children Repression (Special Provision) Act, 1995”82 .

Case Study 3 Example of a rescue and arrest of a notorious trafficker: The BNWLA repatriated 10 boys from India. Once the boys are taken across the border, their names are changed and they travel to Dubai via India with their new names. In this way one notorious trafficker Fitu Miah took seven boys from village Hangamy and Raninagar under the Sibganj Police Station in the district of Chapai Nawabganj. When the boys were repatriated, the BNWLA investigated and discovered the chain of network. The alleged ringleader of child trafficking racket Fitu Miah was identified and arrested with the help of the police. Fitu Miah collected children openly, but the police did not act. Fitu Miah used to say that give me a boy weighing below 15 kilos, he will bring 2,000 Taka per month for you83.

4.5.2 Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation is the most challenging activity that requires a pragmatic program of action to restore the trafficked women and girls in their social life. Various papers have mentioned the need of rehabilitation programs with proper employment opportunities.

However, the prevailing norms and value systems of our society do not easily accept the returnees in family and social life.

4.5.3 Repatriation: ‘Repatriation’ means voluntary return to the country of origin of the person subjected to trafficking across international frontiers. The minors have no choice, and they have to be taken back to their place of origin, but an adult women has the right to choose to stay in the 82

P.Richard, Empowerment, Community Mobilization And Social Change In The Face Of HIV/AIDS. AIDS 1996;10 (Suppl 30), pp. - 27-31.

83

Ibid.

country if she so wishes. The choice of women is not even considered, because the focus has always been to protect the interest of state over and above the interest of women.

Case Study 1 An example of unsuccessful repatriation- “A 15-16-year old girl came to Dhaka with her grandmother. One day she had a fight with her grandmother and left the house. She was found near New Market with physical and mental trauma. The BNWLA team rescued her. She slowly recovered from that condition. The BNWLA counselor took her back to her home. Her mother was angry and did not want to talk to her daughter. Considering the situation, the daughter asked the counselor to take her back to the shelter home. Then suddenly the mother started to get concerned and asked where was her daughter all these days, etc. She also shared information regarding her family and husband. She also informed that their financial condition is so poor that it would be difficult for her to sustain the daughter. However, the counselor convinced the mother to keep her daughter for few days. After few days, the girl was back to the shelter home in Dhaka with a relative. Neither her father nor her mother wanted to take her responsibility.”

4.5.4 Reintegration: ‘Reintegration’ means social and economic integration acknowledging her right to self-determination. It is a better alternative to rehabilitation and implies a far less judgmental. Most importantly, it incorporates the notion of social acceptance and the reclaiming of dignity for women. However, often the societies become judgmental in re-integrating the victims into the society.

4.5.5 Problems of Rehabilitation, Repatriation, And Reintegration: There are many problems in rehabilitating and reintegrating the trafficked victims as reported by the BNWLA which are stated below: The rescued victims cannot recall their name of native village, upazila, and/or district properly. They cannot even remember the name of their parents. Neither they remember their mother tongue nor could they learn the language of the new country (The country where they have been trafficked to). Cost of repatriation is difficult to manage or sometimes it is impossible to manage.Stigma at the family and social level Bureaucratic (administrative) complexity in terms of repatriation. The rights address and documents are sometimes unavailable from the place they were rescued and which are also very inadequate to prove their citizenship. The communication of the rescuing staff between the sending and the receiving countries is very

weak and not helpful for rescue operation. There are no laws regarding repatriation of trafficked victims.

4.5.6 Anti-Trafficking Prevention Efforts : Most NGOs which work on anti-traffickingprevention activities have awareness-raising activities. The important NGOs working in these fields are BNWLA, CWCS, Resource Bangladesh, and Theatre Centre for Social Development (TCSD), BITA, UDDIPAN, PROSHIKA, and UBINIG. The CWCS is involved in advocacy and awareness-raising to combat trafficking of women and children at the local, national, regional and international levels. In recent years, campaigns and advocacy programs with local government agencies, NGOs, community leaders, police, journalists, teachers, doctors, lawyers, parents, guardians, adolescents, and children and particularly with community people at the grassroots level were undertaken. The CWCS also acts as a pressure group to lobby with the policy-planners and decision-makers. It organized awareness-raising workshop and dialogues and also police training. PROSHIKA, one of the largest national NGOs in Bangladesh, purports that the root cause of trafficking is poverty and patriarchal ideology. According to them, patriarchal ideology has constructed the mindset of the people in such a way that women are treated as a ‘commodity’ who can be sold and bought.

PROSHIKA believes that, in general, people are not aware of trafficking and even the issues relating to trafficking of women and children have not been seriously considered at the individual and organizational levels. Due to lack of this seriousness, the problem did not get priority. PROSHIKA does not have a separate program on combating trafficking. They treat this as a part of their activities against women’s oppression. The main thrust of PROSHIKA's approach is to treat trafficking as part of the problem of women’s oppression and to mitigate it through training, concretization, and advocacy. One recent example of this approach was organizing a samabesh (gathering) of people, mostly women, near the Hili Check post in Dinajpur and the group of people from the other side of the border. The purpose of this samabesh was to create awareness among people of the border area for resisting trafficking.

UBINIG looks at the trafficking problem from a different angle. They consider trafficking a kind of migration, but are concerned about the violence and illegal activities associated with it.

UBINIG believes that women are being trafficked for different purposes, such as forced labor, domestic worker, and begging, and sometimes are allured through marriage. The whole process of trafficking is linked with violence, which should be stopped. UBINIG also views the problem

of trafficking of women differently from trafficking of children. UBINIG believes that when the children are being trafficked they do not have any opinion on choosing any job, whereas women do this consciously and have the freedom to choose an occupation. It was thought that the border areas of Bangladesh are only shopping spots where unscrupulous persons assembled women from different parts of the country to be trafficked to other side of the border. It was expressed by one respondent from UBINIG that people lack livelihood and food security. If one can provide livelihood and food security, people will not seek other options, such as choosing to search for a job and livelihood.

UDDIPAN, TCSD, BITA, and the Resource Bangladesh have been continuing their efforts to raise awareness among the mass people through local committees, Children Congress, and drama campaign. Recently, the TCSD and the Resource Bangladesh have organized antitrafficking campaign in the border areas of Chapai Nawabganj. However, for elimination of the trafficking problems, anti-trafficking prevention activities, such as launching of national media campaign, and school-based programs, are very crucial 4.6 Official Corruption and Collaboration Although laws against trafficking exist, their implementation remains weak. Although the new laws have increased penalties their application has certain technical problems which are in the process of being identified. There is scope for misapplication and harassment of innocent persons. The law enforcing authorities and the judiciary need to be better sensitized about the issues involved. There is a need for stronger action against members of law enforcing authorities who are themselves involved in trafficking. Regional cooperation is essential to coordinate legal and administrative measures and procedures. Information needs to be shared and extradition of offenders allowed. Victims are sometimes charged with prostitution or immoral behavior and put in jail. The repatriation of Bangladeshi women trafficked abroad needs to be facilitated.84 More than 9,000 girls are trafficked each year from Nepal and Bangladesh into bondage in India and Pakistan, often with the acquiescence or cooperation of state officials.85 In Bangladesh, government and health officials deny services to prostituted women and their children on the sole basis that the woman is in prostitution.86 84

Bangladesh CEDAW Report, 1 April 1997 http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news/press/releases/22_april_1998-0.shtml, 22 April 1998 86 The Daily star, (30 June 1998), p. – 6.

85

Trafficking is carried out by regional gangs who are well organized and who have links with the various law enforcing agencies, which is why only a very small percentage of the traffickers are caught or the victims recovered.87 4.7 National Women Development Policy This issue has also been highlighted in the National Women Development Policy giving emphasis on the legal provisions, especially the implementation of the laws. Implement the laws strictly against early marriage, girl child rape, repression, trafficking, and prostitution Enact and ensure stringent enforcement of laws against early marriage, rape of girl child, oppression, trafficking, and prostitution Combat trafficking and rehabilitate the victims Simplify the trial system to dispose of the cases relating to women and child repression and trafficking cases within 6 months.88

Chapter-5

CONCLUDING REMARKS Scholars and experts from different dimensions have identified that the trafficking of women and children has become a social problem and a challenge to the way of development in Bangladesh. An actual perception of its extent and future consequences logically tends to imply that there is no alternative but to raise awareness about this problem among the people of Bangladesh. And, in this context, communication could play a vital role, as communication is accepted as “essential for social change�. Wilbur Schramm cited that communication is the

87

Bangladesh CEDAW Report, 1 April 1997 Ishrat Shamim, National Laws, Policies, and International Instruments Relating to Trafficking of Women and Children, Ibrahim Sattar ed. Women and Human Rights, 2000, p.- 117.

88

fundamental of social process. It underlies any social change that a developing country wants to make and is necessarily a part of any place to improve the quality of human life in any society. 89 To stop the crime, Government of Bangladesh is committed to make a difference to the lives of women and children vulnerable to trafficking and this commitment is reflected in its various initiatives such as enacting laws suiting to the need of time, setting up high powered one stop crisis centre and multi level monitoring cell and special courts for trying cases of such offences. Vigilance has been reinforced in the international airports and seaports of the country.

The issue has been sensitized through campaign, seminars and symposium all over the country.

All these efforts have yielded good result. The US State Department has upgraded Bangladesh position in its recent report on country status based on Women and Child Trafficking.

5.1 Recommendations From the above discussion it is clear to all that trafficking is significantly increasing. If we are not aware about it , nobody can prevent women trafficking. Acute poverty, illiteracy, and a lack of urban “street smarts� in small villages are some of the factors that lead to sexual exploitation of young Bangladeshi girls. So if the govt. does not follow up about it, and does not take initial steps, trafficking will rapidly increased. Recent studies indicate that advocacy efforts are needed to make people aware of trafficking and its consequences. Some reports suggest that appropriate messages linking the issue of trafficking and HIV/AIDS, for example, should be developed and popularized through song, drama, or any other simple media. It has also been suggested that publicity is made in public places, such as bus terminals, train stations, and ferry ghats. Another suggestion is for grassroots-level community mobilization to combat trafficking by, for example, involving law students in high-risk trafficking areas where they could conduct paralegal training for the community people or organize free mobile legal clinics The Govt. should take an initial steps for acknowledgements, public awareness campaigns and specialized training for the common people. Beside this, Government of Bangladesh should: a.

sign and ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and

its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

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M Golam Rahman. Communication Issues in Bangladesh. (Dhaka; Har-Anand publications Pvt. Ltd. in association with Paragon publisher), 1999, p. – 42.

b.

Implementation of Immoral Traffic Act, 1933, as well as oilier relevant instruments

needs to be reviewed strengthened and enforced. c.

Review and amend national laws to identify and eliminate loopholes commonly

used by traffickers to avoid prosecution or to obtain reduced sentences. d.

Provide appropriate asylum, rehabilitation and assistance to those victims of trafficking

who do not want to return their country of origin. e.

Create data bank to be contributed to regularly, maintained and shared among regional

NGOs in which information regarding trafficking routes, transit points, modes of trafficking, methods of recruitment and other relevant data is stored. f.

Ensure that traffickers are prosecuted and that victims are adequately compensated.

g.

Ensure that all law enforcement officials who deal with trafficking cases receive

comprehensive human rights training specifically on trafficking issues. g.

Establish effective networks at national, regional and international levels to combat

trafficking. h.

Ensure that all Bangladesh Embassy personnel in India, Pakistan and the Gulf States

priorities the investigation and resolution of trafficking cases.

5.2 Conclusion In recent years, the volume of trafficking of women and children as a problem has acquired global dimensions. For South Asian countries, the issue is already considered a serious regional problem that demands a concerted response. Accordingly, trafficking was high on the agenda of the Ninth Summit of SAARC heads of governments held in the Maldives in 1997. The trafficking issue is closely linked with the human rights issue with important ramifications in the area of health, law-enforcing, and socioeconomic development in general. Poverty, attitudes toward women and deeply-entrenched gender discrimination, unemployment, cultural norms about marriage, well-organized national and international networks of traffickers, and weak lawenforcing agencies are few critical factors relating to trafficking of women and children in Bangladesh. This criminal activity cannot be addressed through tougher laws alone. Several legislations, including the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, already provide penalties for violence against women and children, including trafficking and kidnapping.

Yet, implementation of these legislations remains a formidable challenge.

According to Family Health International, 1999, a number of programs in Asia have already begun to address the causes of trafficking in women. One of Thailand's responses was to focus on the source of demand for trafficked services, such as the clients of underage sex workers.

Through the impetus and lobbying of the National Commission on Women's Affairs (NCWA), Thailand is the first country in the region to pass laws that impose greater penalties on customers than on sellers for involvement in commercial sex with underage partners. Application of the law has been light, but it is the basis for future enforcement. The NCWA is also trying to change male sexual norms through a national poster campaign with messages showing a child saying "my father does not visit prostitutes."

This review found that many research reports are based on information gathered through anecdotes from secondary analysis and unreliable data. The review also quoted extensively from a few good reports that collected field information and described the trafficking practices and mapped out the trafficking routes. Although more studies need to be conducted to shed light on trafficking antecedents, there are already several reports documenting the trafficking issues in Bangladesh. There is a need for studies that can generate first-hand information on social, economic, political and health implications of the problem. It is critical also to identify the current and potential roles of the government and NGOs and also in what ways civil society contributes to this immoral practice.

Gender discrimination, unemployment, unawareness, and well-organized networks of traffickers are some critical factors. A uniform plan of action, including mass-media campaign on the anti-trafficking issues using radio and TV, is needed at the national level. NGOs need to develop mechanisms and improve capacity for monitoring, evaluation, and community-based targeted research. The governments and NGOs of this region need to work in a coordinated approach and under a common legal framework to address the prevalent conditions.

Finally it may be said that we have to take huge number of preventive measures because we better know that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Bangladesh has achieved a remarkable success in combating the trafficking in women and children for the pragmatic steps taken by the govt. US state department has lauded the efforts of Bangladesh govt. in this regard. Despite various commendable efforts of our govt. Bangladesh is still the second largest country in Asia in women and children trafficking. The issue was raised and discussed in the recent SAARC SUMMIT in New Delhi. Among other SAARC countries

Nepal, India and Pakistan are also facing the same problems and the leaders of the SAARC countries agreed to work together and sought regional co-operation to fight the menace.

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