Safety nets for migrant women
|
Jabala Action Research Organisation, a Kolkata-based civil society organisation (CSO) has embarked on a Safe Migration Project with the help of gram panchayats, to prevent the exploitation of young girls and women who migrate from rural areas to metropolitan cities and major towns in search of work.
Formally launched a year ago, the Safe Migration Project operates in 13 blocks (including Jalangi, Hariharpada and Beldanga) in Murshidabad district, Joynagar and Kakdwip blocks and Bhutiarisharif panchayat in South 24 Parganas, Bashirhat I, Gaighata and Swarupnagar blocks in North 24 Parganas and Kaliganj block in Nadia district of West Bengal. A natural corollary to a UNICEF-sponsored module developed by Jabala in 1998, which sought to rope in local self-governing bodies in rural areas to stem the flow of women into red-light areas, the Safe Migration Project uses tracking booths in the blocks to keep track of women who migrate into urban areas across the country, or across the Indo-Bangladesh international border in search of employment as domestic or factory workers. Says Jabala secretary Baitali Ganguly: “We had been working towards the rehabilitation of women and girls lured into the sex trade at Bowbazar in Kolkata for many years. However, we realised at one point of time that it was not possible to eradicate this problem unless we attacked it at the very source. Since several UNIFEM and government-sponsored surveys had revealed Murshidabad to be the worst affected district, operating as both a source and transit point in the US$ 10 billion global trade in sex trafficking, we decided to start with the same, in 2000.” Beginning with sensitising the police and panchayats, Jabala organised awareness camps in schools and local youth clubs to familiarise people with the important aspects and modus operandi of traffickers. This resulted in the setting up of several village vigilance committees to tackle the problem. In 2002, the process was repeated in Swarupnagar block in the border district of North 24 Parganas. A safety net was also thrown in to protect girl-children, by training adolescent groups in rural areas and Kolkata’s red-light areas. By 2005, the formalities were well in place for Jabala to set its tracking programme in motion. The Safe Migration Project was formally launched a year ago. Villagers normally get themselves registered with the panchayat if they plan to move elsewhere for work. Thereafter, Jabala takes over, verifying the employers’ antecedents and informing the local police station in the concerned city. This ensures that migrants are going to a safe environment to work, and escape exploitation as slave labour or as sex workers. Every migrant moving to Kolkata, Delhi or Mumbai is given a safe migration card that lists the Jabala helpline, along with police helplines in their place of origin, so that help is at hand in case of an emergency. Jabala works through its own branches in Delhi and Kolkata, while tracking and rescue operations in Mumbai are done through a partner CSO, the Rescue Foundation. Tracking has yet to commence in Mumbai and other parts of the country. Over 5,000 safe migration cards have been issued to women and girls migrating out to metropolitan cities in search of work. The project, which is still in its pilot stage, has so far restored 47 girls to their families. Of these, 15 were rescued from Delhi, two from Mumbai, and 30 from in and around Kolkata and West Bengal. Some of these women had found their way into brothels, while many had been sexually abused as domestics in the homes they were employed in. Once the girls got in touch with the local police and lodged their complaints, minor girls were taken charge of by the respective child welfare committee in the areas they were in. From thereon, the cards they were carrying helped Jabala and its partner CSO restore them, through the local panchayat, to their families. Where majors were concerned, the police worked through their counterparts in West Bengal and Jabala to restore the women to their families. Plans are afoot to extend Jabala’s operations to Lucknow, Pune and other cities. “We are also working towards getting this project to operate through the government’s own mechanism. This will help us cover all the districts of West Bengal, and effectively prevent women from being lured or coerced into the sex trade when seeking legitimate employment as a way out of poverty,” explain Baitali Ganguly and volunteer Subhashis Mitra. A lot will depend on the results of a project evaluation that will take place at the end of this year. The evaluation will help determine the extent to which operations can be extended, and in what direction. Incidentally, West Bengal holds the dubious distinction of being a source, transit and destination point in the human trafficking trade. Kolkata and the state of West Bengal are important transit points in cross-border sex trafficking for Pakistan and Mumbai, lying as it does in close proximity with the international borders of Nepal and Bangladesh. Nearly 99% of Bangladeshi women trafficked into India find their way across land routes through Jessore, Satkhira and Rajshahi, which correspond with Bashirhat, Ghozadanga (in North 24 Parganas district) and Murshidabad on the Indian side. Contact: Jabala Action Research Organisation, 221/6B, Rash Behari Avenue (Ground Floor), Kolkata 700019. Phone : 24602229/32403776 E-mail : jabala @vsnl.net |
Printable version
Back to top
