Ranchi: Two girls who were married off as minors and forced into flesh trade in the national capital and Haryana by their “demon husband” reached Jharkhand Women’s Commission to narrate their ordeal in hope of justice.
The men who had promised them a happy married life used them as fodder and sold them eight to nine times into this illicit business.
According to media report, girls told the State Commission for Women on Tuesday that their parents in exchange for lucrative financial offers had struck a deal in their childhood and got them married off early.
“Tabassum and Farida were made to tie the knot five to six years ago when they were both minors. Thereafter, their husbands and other men subjected them to unspeakable torture. The cases once again scream the need for awareness against child marriages in Jharkhand. I will speak to the DGP and see if the cases can be taken up with police in Delhi and Haryana,” Maji told The Telegraph.
“My husband was at least 10 years older to me. From Delhi, he took me to Muzaffarnagar (UP), where his mother, father, a younger brother and seven sisters worked at a brick kiln. I was introduced to the same labour, but I had no qualms then,” said the 20-year-old Tabassum , a native of Doranda in Ranchi.
Farida’s ordeal was no different from that of Tabassum.
Drawing attention to wounds on her body, Farida continued, “Look what that demon Anis Ali did to me when I refused to sleep with other men. I was married to him six years ago. He said he was from Simdega, but was actually from Haryana. I was cheated. He took me to Jawana village (Haryana). There were many more girls working for him like bonded labour – all deceive in the name of marriage. After suffering for days, one night I ran away with my two children, my son an infant then. I want the government to punish Anis and rescue the other girls.”
“Girls in Jharkhand are pushed into human trafficking owing to their poor background. They are sold off to rich brick kiln owners for money, or bought by men as temporary wives who then rent out their wombs to others who are unable to bear a baby and get money for it,” said chief of Women’s Commission.
Young women and girls mostly from Jharkhand are flown to the national Capital and Haryana, where they are pushed into flesh trade by the unscrupulous owners and employees of placement agencies.
A 2013 report by the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime identified Jharkhand as one of the most vulnerable states for trafficking of children and women.