Guddi (name changed) commands attention. She is a short, hyperactive woman with a child’s waif-like beauty, but her body language is abrasively ‘adult’. Her life has been perversely thrust from its purpose. She is desperate for control but has lost control of her own life.
Guddi’s childhood ended brutally. Lured to Mumbai when she was eleven by the promise of domestic work, she was taken to a guesthouse in Juhu to have sex with a paedophile. When she refused ‘to sit on his lap,’ she was dragged to a Kamathipura brothel; the madam and her daughter held her arms and legs and a customer raped her so violently she was hospitalised for three months.
Guddi’s childhood ended brutally. Lured to Mumbai when she was eleven by the promise of domestic work, she was taken to a guesthouse in Juhu to have sex with a paedophile. When she refused ‘to sit on his lap,’ she was dragged to a Kamathipura brothel; the madam and her daughter held her arms and legs and a customer raped her so violently she was hospitalised for three months.
The Hindu festival of Rakhi is a celebration of the sanctity of brother and sister relationships. The sister ties a cord of embroidered silk on a brother’s wrist. This cord is called rakhi, symbolising the mutual responsibility to love, nurture and protect. In violation of all that the rakhi stands for, this adopted brother chose this day to abduct his sister.
As Rekha (name changed) was buying gifts for her brothers, he intercepted her and invited her to attend a function at his college in Birgunj, a city on the Nepal-India border.
As Rekha (name changed) was buying gifts for her brothers, he intercepted her and invited her to attend a function at his college in Birgunj, a city on the Nepal-India border.
Lata’s (name changed) abduction into sex slavery began with a clandestine love affair. During her 10th standard, she fell in love with an older boy called Ramesh. They met daily and talked constantly on the telephone. “I wanted to marry him,” she confided but her parents would never agree to the match. When Ramesh suggested that she elope with him to Bangalore, she saw a way out of the family dilemma.
She would marry Ramesh and present her parents with their marriage as a fait accompli. In this way she could circumvent the problem of their consent:
She would marry Ramesh and present her parents with their marriage as a fait accompli. In this way she could circumvent the problem of their consent:
Newly married Ritu and her husband moved to Mumbai to find work. They struggled as he could find little work and they fell sick. When their money ran out, a friend offered them a job and accommodation.Without realising the kind of ‘work’ offered, Ritu’s husband took her to the new job in Kamathipura.
As they walked the streets, a member of the BTC outreach team, realising she could be in danger, called the police. She was rescued in the nick of time, moments before being sold into a lifetime of slavery.
As they walked the streets, a member of the BTC outreach team, realising she could be in danger, called the police. She was rescued in the nick of time, moments before being sold into a lifetime of slavery.