N
ew Delhi, Sep 26 : The government has ordered an inquiry into reports of girls from the northeast being trafficked to Malaysia for sex work. NGOs claimed that as many as 150 girls were reported to have been promised jobs in Singapore but landed up in clubs in Kaula Lampur instead.
The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (OIA) has ordered an inquiry into the reports. “I am looking into the matter. We have also alerted our embassies in Singapore and Malaysia,” Vayalar Ravi, OIA minister said. The minister has directed the Protectorate of Emigrants (PoE) officer to track records on the basis of which these girls were taken.
Complaints were received from Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and Shakti Vahini regarding trafficking of girls from Zeliangrong community in Tamenglong district in Manipur. The two NGOs were alerted after three girls escaped from their traffickers in Malaysia and were rescued by a priest. He, in turn, got in touch with NPMHR, Unifem and Shakti Vahini.
Shakti Vahini’s executive director Ravi Kant said, “This information only hints at what could be a larger racket of human trafficking from the N-E.” While details are not forthcoming, NGOs said that a Singapore-based group was recruiting girls not just from Manipur but Guwahati, Kolkata, Dimapur and Shillong. NGOs also claimed that five girls on their way to Singapore were intercepted and rescued at Dimapur recently.
The N-E has emerged as a source-transit-destination point for trafficking of women and children. The region’s proximity to the country’s porous borders has made human trafficking from Nepal and Bangladesh easy while girls from Manipur, Nagaland and Assam find their way to Delhi, Mumbai and southeast Asian countries.
Human trafficking, coupled with trafficking of drugs and arms, has left the entire region in turmoil and internal strife. Concerned over the increasing number of fake recruiting agencies, the ministry has planned to strengthen the Emigration Act that will allow authorities to take stringent action against fraudulent agents. The amendments to the legislation are in the pipeline.
ew Delhi, Sep 26 : The government has ordered an inquiry into reports of girls from the northeast being trafficked to Malaysia for sex work. NGOs claimed that as many as 150 girls were reported to have been promised jobs in Singapore but landed up in clubs in Kaula Lampur instead.
The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (OIA) has ordered an inquiry into the reports. “I am looking into the matter. We have also alerted our embassies in Singapore and Malaysia,” Vayalar Ravi, OIA minister said. The minister has directed the Protectorate of Emigrants (PoE) officer to track records on the basis of which these girls were taken.
Complaints were received from Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and Shakti Vahini regarding trafficking of girls from Zeliangrong community in Tamenglong district in Manipur. The two NGOs were alerted after three girls escaped from their traffickers in Malaysia and were rescued by a priest. He, in turn, got in touch with NPMHR, Unifem and Shakti Vahini.
Shakti Vahini’s executive director Ravi Kant said, “This information only hints at what could be a larger racket of human trafficking from the N-E.” While details are not forthcoming, NGOs said that a Singapore-based group was recruiting girls not just from Manipur but Guwahati, Kolkata, Dimapur and Shillong. NGOs also claimed that five girls on their way to Singapore were intercepted and rescued at Dimapur recently.
The N-E has emerged as a source-transit-destination point for trafficking of women and children. The region’s proximity to the country’s porous borders has made human trafficking from Nepal and Bangladesh easy while girls from Manipur, Nagaland and Assam find their way to Delhi, Mumbai and southeast Asian countries.
Human trafficking, coupled with trafficking of drugs and arms, has left the entire region in turmoil and internal strife. Concerned over the increasing number of fake recruiting agencies, the ministry has planned to strengthen the Emigration Act that will allow authorities to take stringent action against fraudulent agents. The amendments to the legislation are in the pipeline.
0 comments:
Post a Comment