Violating human rights, around 25 thousand children including young women from Bangladesh are being trafficked by international smugglers every year through unprotected border areas.
This was disclosed at a seminar on 'combating child trafficking: context Bangladesh citizen's role' organised by Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum at the BIAM auditorium in the capital yesterday.
The speakers said Bangladesh is considered as a most vulnerable region for trafficking because of its large population, chronic poverty, illiteracy, large-scale rural-urban migration and recurrent natural disasters.
Women are sold, traded, exchanged for sexual slavery and prostitution, bonded labour at different countries including India, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines as well as some Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia. Besides, children who have been trafficked from Bangladesh to other countries are engaging themselves in begging. Traffickers compel them to do this through making them physically handicapped by cutting hands, legs and gouging out their eyes.
Shahjahan a researcher in his keynote paper said around 87 thousand children including girls were rescued from different parts of the country in the last five years while they were being trafficked. On an average around 25 thousand children including girls from Bangladesh are being trafficked every year under the nose of law enforcing agencies at bordering areas.
Additional Police Inspector General Javed Patwary said there is no reliable estimate of women and children who are being trafficked from Bangladesh to other countries but the trafficking of women and children has increased in Bangladesh recently. "So far I know, around 661 cases were lodged in this connection in the last five years. Of these, judgments have been passed of 344 cases. A total of 233 were convicted. Among them, 172 accused were given life-long imprisonment, eight were sentenced to death and 53 were given other punishments," he said.
Around 931 children were rescued during the period from different trafficking points by members of law enforcing agencies. Trafficking is turning into a social problem. "For combating trafficking, some 500 NGOs are working throughout the country. If our 62 thousand registered NGOs come forward against trafficking only then it will possible to combat," he added.
Abdus Sobhan Sikdar Secretary to Home Affairs Ministry said trafficking of women and children in increasing in Bangladesh day by day. "A group of smugglers in association with local brokers collect women and children from different slums and villages in the name of providing jobs abroad. And this trend has increased due to lack of awareness among family members of the victim. So teachers, leaders of different communities and NGO activists will have to hold awareness creating programmes against trafficking. And then it will be reduced," he said.
Source: The Bangladesh Today
