‘New bill will end India as transit point for trafficking of girls’, says Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

New Delhi, July 26: India, which is a hub to easy trafficking of girls from neighboring countries, will see an end to the vile practice once the anti-human trafficking bill is passed, said Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi. “India is an easy destination for trafficking especially for girls from neighboring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. It is the transit point from where the girls are transported to Gulf countries. Under the new law, strong bodies will be made which will focus on stopping transit trafficking,” Satyarthi, 64, told IANS.

Satyarthi who had been fighting for the rights of girls and strongly advocates saving them from trafficking was honored with Nobel Prize in 2014, along with Malala Yousufzai. He is also one of the strongest advocates for architects of the anti-trafficking bill. “This is a big achievement for India post-independence ensuring freedom from human slavery. It is a very strong law and will act as a deterrent against human trafficking,” he added.

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection, and Rehabilitation) Bill was introduced in the monsoon session of the Lok Sabha on July 18 by Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. The new proposed legislation covers all aspects of human trafficking — prevention, rescue, rehabilitation — including aggravated forms of trafficking like forced labor, begging, administering chemical substances and hormones for early sexual maturity, forced marriage, etc.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the human trafficking cases reported across India increased by almost 20 percent in 2016 against the previous year, to 8,132. A total of 15,379 victims of human trafficking were registered in 2016, out of which over 60 percent were minors. According to Satyarthi, the enactment of the new law will also bring an end to the black money involved in trafficking.

Although many activists have raised their concerns over the rehabilitation facilities usually offered to the human trafficking survivors, Satyarthi pitched that the new bill ensures rehabilitation as the right for the victims and survivors. The laureate also stated that since the women and girls involved in prostitution mostly chose it out of financial crisis or other pressure, they tend or prefer to stay in the same atmosphere and refuses to go for rehab centers. However, Satyarthi also voiced that just passing the bill in Parliament won’t be a sufficient step unless it is implemented strongly. (IANS)