Trafficking in women and children is one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world, behind drugs and arms. (McCoy 2003:3) 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, East-Europe, 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. (Murtuja 2001:2)

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.

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 children and 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 and children 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. (Ali 2001:3) According to the information revealed by various studies and observations of different organizations, the prostitution or the brothels in Mumbai, India are the most high-risk areas for HIV and AIDS contamination. (Ibid.)

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 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 cross-border trafficking at any time. (Ali, Ibid.)  

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. (http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/tiprpt/2001/index.cfm?docid=3928) 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.

Causes of Trafficking

Trafficking of women and children is a complex problem in Bangladesh with an international dimension. Previous researches show that 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 increase in recent years are multiple and complicated.

Now a days, newest researches show that 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.

The lack of education is also another important factor behind this problem. As the rate of literacy is low in the country, the level of consciousness about the problem among the rural people is also negligible. A study conducted by BNWLA shows that above 88% of trafficked women are illiterate and 9% received primary education. Above 79% of victims’ fathers was illiterate and only 16% received primary education. Also, above 88% of the victims’ mothers was illiterate and 8% received primary education. (BNWLA, 1999:110)

In rural communities, early marriage, the dowry system and polygamy are commonly practiced phenomena. Parents are often unable marry off their daughters because of their inability to pay a dowry. In order to avoid social pressure and stigma regarding the delayed marriage of women, parents try to arrange a marriage for their daughters at an early stage. And at this moment, the traffickers take the opportunity for pseudo-marriage in different areas saying that they will not take dowry. The parents then agree with them and their daughters turn into the victims of modern slave trade, trafficking.

The number of widowed, divorced and separated women is also on the rise following dowry, polygamy and other factors like love, illness etc. It has been found that both polygamy and dowry have led to an increased incidence of domestic violence and desertion. Sometimes, physical and mental illness and contagious diseases result in women and girls becoming outcasts. In many instances, communities and families treat those widowed, single women as outcasts and as a social, economical burden. Hence, offers for marriage and 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 girls trafficked over land-border were treated as a burden by their respective families as they were unable to find any paid work after they were deserted by their husbands. (Centre for Health and Population Research 2001: 210)

Side by side with the above mentioned causes, there are also factors like negative attitude towards women and female children, religious fundamentalism, natural disasters, inadequate government policies and inefficiency among the law enforcing agencies that are facilitating the problem day in and day out. Above all, lack of consciousness among the people from different strata of the society can also be termed to be the hidden factor behind this social problem.                  

Extent of Trafficking

The magnitude of trafficking in Bangladesh cannot be understood in isolation from its historical and geographical background.

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 1200 miles. Thus many cross-border families were formed. During separation, many Muslim families from India migrated to Pakistan, particularly East Pakistan simultaneously, many Hindus living in East Pakistan too moved to India.

In 1971, East Pakistan became independent from 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 waiting for repatriation to Pakistan. They live in 6 camps scattered in 40 districts of Bangladesh. As repatriation of these people has been delayed, many of them cross the border illegally. Often with these groups, other women and children from different parts of the country are trafficked.

On both sides of the newly drawn border between India and Bangladesh, there are many “enclaves” which are pockets of land belonging to a nation other than that which carrousels them. There are 111 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 the traffickers. (Ali 1998: 63) So, it is very clear that the problem of trafficking in Bangladesh is rooted historically.

There is no reliable estimate of women and children who are being trafficked and who have already been trafficked from Bangladesh to other countries. According to estimates by human rights activists, 200-400 young women and children are smuggled every month from Bangladesh to Pakistan. (Centre for Health and Population Research 2001:18) Most of them end up in prostitution. A large number of Bangladeshi women are involved in sex trade in India, mostly in the brothels of Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. Regarding trafficking of women and children, the BNWLA and CWS have made the below-listed estimates (Box 1) from different sources like newspapers, literature reviews and information from the law enforcing agencies. (Shamim 1998:17)               

Box-1: Estimate of children trafficked from Bangladesh.

13,220 children trafficked out of Bangladesh in the past five years
300, 000 Bangladesh children work in the brothels of India.
200,000 Bangladesh children work in the brothels of Pakistan
45,00 women and children trafficked to Pakistan.
1,000 child-trafficking cases documented in Bangladesh media in 1900-92.
For the purpose of getting more acquainted with the extent of the problem, we need to search through some other investigations in this regard. A report submitted by Ishrat Shamim, Associate Professor in Sociology of Dhaka University, has also claimed that the lack of empirical studies on the issue has withheld exposure to the magnitude of the problem and denied the necessary legal protection and sanctions. However, police sources revealed that between January 1979 and August 1983, there were 823 Women and children, who were to be sent to neighbouring countries or had escaped and had been apprehended by the law enforcing agencies, while between May 1987 to December 1989, the number increased to 880. (Shamim 1993: Among them, many women and children were brought from Burma (Now Mayanmer) and had crossed into Bangladesh to be sent to other countries. Boxes 2.3 given below will provide some details regarding the trafficking problem in Bangladesh.

The figures indicate that the rate of trafficking in women and children is quite high and has increased in recent years. However, police officials are of the opinion that the hidden incidents are much higher. (Ibid.)

On the other hand, a survey carried out by The Centre for Communication and Development, shows that about 55 to 82 women and children are trafficked everyday from Bangladesh to other countries. More than one million women and children have already been trafficked to India, Pakistan and the Middle East in the last 30 years. A report, published by UNICEF, has revealed that about two lacks Bangladeshi women are still in the brothels of Pakistan, and three lacks in India. Experts concerning this issue are worried that if it continues to this extent and remedial measurers are not taken in accordance with the need, the number of trafficked women and children will be 25 lacks in 2010. (Mortuja, Ibid.)

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Habib Mohammad Ali, is Research Fellow of Department of Mass Communication, University of Rajshahi Bangladesh

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