19/05/2012 – According to Bangladeshi authorities, human traffickers are posing with their female victims as newlyweds in a new effort to cross the border into India.
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The head of the Border Guard Bangladesh had some disturbing news about child trafficking out of the country today. Major General Anwar Hussain said that young women and girls are being smuggled into India by their “pimps” who masquerade themselves as honeymooners.
The traffickers are using this method in an attempt to cross borders without drawing attention. Many of the trafficking victims were from poverty-stricken backgrounds and were searching for a future with more opportunities than they might find at home. This is why they go willingly with traffickers.The problem is, they don’t know what is really waiting for them on the other side.
In the past three months, the Border Guard has rescued 70 women and girls from border regions. Many of the girls had fallen into the traffickers' clutches through false promises of job offers from abroad, the Deccan Herald reports. Other common causes include domestic violence, false tourism and marriage offers.
According to the South Asian News Agency, both Bangladeshi and Indian border authorities agreed to cooperate in order to take steps to end human trafficking and smuggling at a recent four-day conference in Shiliguri, India. Earlier this week, Bangladesh committed to signing a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia on curbing the level of human trafficking between the two countries.
Bangladesh has also launched a national action plan to combat trafficking, with a strategy covering the next two years (2012-2014).
“Some children are sold into bondage by their parents, while others are induced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion,” says the US State Departments 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report on child trafficking in the country. Bangladeshi children are also trafficked for purposes of domestic servitude and forced labour, says the report.
Incorporating trafficking into poverty reduction initiatives has remained challenging. When discussing social marginalization and social disintegration, trafficking should also be discussed, local media reports.
According to the country’s Home Ministry, between 100,000 and 200,500 Bangladeshi females are trafficked each year in this illicit sector, which is the world’s third largest after drug and arms dealing.
Globally, millions of people are subjected to human trafficking every year. Most of the victims are aged 18 to 24, though 1.2 million are children. Almost all will experience physical or sexual violence, while 43 per cent will be forced into the commercial sex industry.
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