JASHPUR ( Chhattisgarh): It's a cold, windy morning inThuthiamba village in the interiors of Jashpur district and
Basanti,
20, is clutching her one-year-old son close to her chest for both
warmth and comfort. She is ravaged by the thought that the child will
grow up never knowing who the father was.
Basanti was just 12 when she was taken to New Delhi for domestic work
by a woman from a nearby village. Six years later, she returned home
five months pregnant after being repeatedly raped by men in the
household where she worked.
There are thousands of girls like Basanti in Jashpur, which has emerged as a major hotspot for trafficking of minor girls and women as domestic help to different parts of the country, especially Delhi and Mumbai. Most of these girls end up being physically abused and sexually exploited. A few end up fighting AIDS.
During the just concluded winter session of the assembly, Nanki Ram Kanwar, the state home minister, said more than 6000 young girls and women were reported missing so far in the past one year from Jashpur and neighbouring districts alone. Officials at the state department of women and child development, however, put the figure at more than double - at about 13,000 girls. A survey conducted by State Resource Centre, Adult and Continuing Education in 2009 said there were about 20,000 girls who were trafficked to other states in the past 7-8 years.
There are thousands of girls like Basanti in Jashpur, which has emerged as a major hotspot for trafficking of minor girls and women as domestic help to different parts of the country, especially Delhi and Mumbai. Most of these girls end up being physically abused and sexually exploited. A few end up fighting AIDS.
During the just concluded winter session of the assembly, Nanki Ram Kanwar, the state home minister, said more than 6000 young girls and women were reported missing so far in the past one year from Jashpur and neighbouring districts alone. Officials at the state department of women and child development, however, put the figure at more than double - at about 13,000 girls. A survey conducted by State Resource Centre, Adult and Continuing Education in 2009 said there were about 20,000 girls who were trafficked to other states in the past 7-8 years.
