Alaul Alam :
Every year an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders and 80 per cent of them face the brunt of becoming forced prostitution. Different sources estimate that over the last 10 years around 200,000 Bangladeshi women were trafficked to various countries in the world.
Another media source reveals that around 20,000 Bangladeshi women are trafficked to India, Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries every year. In the Asian and African countries, women trafficking problem is increasing alarmingly. Amid the Covid-19 the menace of women trafficking has deepened drastically. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), economic fallout and job losses due to the Covid-19 have exposed many succumbed to be trafficked.
In the digital era traffickers have changed their strategies to trap their prey. Before the era of digitization they used to run human trading through travel agencies but these days they have the wide excess to their targeted population with the blessing of virtual media and many more modern technologies.
It is apparent that the traffickers are seeing more scopes to trap a huge number of people to accomplish their trafficking crime. They maintain international syndicate of trafficking. In every country where there is a fertile ground for human trafficking, they have their representatives who work to manage the targeted people and traffic them following the instruction of the ring leaders.
Recently, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three members of a human trafficking syndicate in Dhaka and they have found the evidence that this syndicate trafficked around 200 women to India in the last 10 years. They sold the women to the brothels in India with each one for Tk1 to 1.5 lakh.
In recent times the Law enforcers have made many drives across the country to arrest the traffickers. A few months back , with the arrest of a trafficking syndicate who used to traffic women using social media app TikTok the Law enforcers have found many clues that help them to run the drives against the traffickers. Though it is obvious that many more crimes related to women trafficking are still unaddressed.
In most cases when some victims manage themselves to flee from the deported countries or are rescued by the law enforcers, this issue turns a matter of concern but in some days it sinks behind other issues. Certainly, worries may shift to another issue but the mischiefs of the traffickers go unabated.
Sources say that these days the traffickers are using social platforms and getting acquainted with many girls and women by luring them to change their lots with good jobs and better salaries. In all cases, they ask the victims to keep the matter secret. It is evident that when they manage beautiful women and girls, they bear all the expenses regarding preparing passport and visa and take them to the deported countries where instead of giving jobs they force the victims to involve in sex trade.
Trafficking is a violation of human rights. It has far-reaching consequences on individual, family, community and the country. The victims undergo physical and mental disorder. Not only are the victims, their families stigmatised and in many cases the victims cannot get back to the normal life as they have hardly access to mainstream society. Many victims find only two alternative options open for them either to commit suicide or to detach themselves from the mainstream society.
It is obvious that more often media sources expose that law enforcing agencies have rescued some women when they were being trafficked or the victims may be rescued from brothels if the fortune favors on them. As the fortunes of the most are not favored, they compel survival as sex workers. Now the question is; in all regards, how far they have the chance to be rehabilitated?
To prevent trafficking and punish the criminals, the government enacted the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act in 2012. The rules of this act were also formulated later, in 2017. But how far it has been introduced is also a question now? In many cases, the traffickers come out of jail easily and start the same crime again. Until they are given the exemplary punishment by introducing the stricter law,it is tough to check this crime.
However, the government has promulgated various policies and regulations to ensure equal rights for women in all spheres of life. Along with this, different locals and national NGOs are workingto empower women. Despite the initiatives ongoing the priorities should be given to make more scopes for the women particularly, those from poor family background as they are more prone to be trapped by the traffickers.
Evidently, in many cases women are not aware of their rights and privileges provided by the government. Law enforcers should be alert but there is hardly any alternatives to make awareness amid the women in general to combat women trafficking.
(Alaul Alam teaches at Prime University. Email: [email protected]).
