Indo-Pak girls forced into prostitution

Indo-Pak girls forced into prostitution

Asian News International
Lahore, February 6, 2006
Hindustan Times

In a startling case of organised women trafficking that has come to light, Pakistani and Indian girls aged between 11 and 13 are being smuggled to the Middle East countries for being forced into prostitution there. The girls, who are shown as aged between 20 and 22 on their passports, are brought to these countries on the pretext of getting them attracting jobs.

Over the years the trade has been flourishing, as there is great demand of virgin girls in these countries since the rich Sheikhs love having sex with young girls. The traffickers use blood capsules on the girls' bodies in order to "prove" their virginity.

The case came to light after a human rights activist Ansar Burney rescued some minor girls from the Middle East, and he came across some horrifying facts regarding the flesh trade going on in the region. "The blood packed in capsules used by human traffickers to show that girls are virgin, could contain viruses and can spread AIDS or other contagious diseases," Ansar Burney warned.

According to The News, the girls revealed that most of their companions belonged to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Russia.

"Most of the victims are between the age of 11 to 13 years and are smuggled to the Arab countries where they are forced into prostitution in Middle East and Arab countries," the paper quotedone of the victims as saying. She added that on the passports, ages of these girls were shown as 20 to 22 years old.

She said the human traffickers promised a beautiful and bright future and respectable jobs in the Middle East and Arab countries to lure young girls and after reaching abroad these girls are forced into prostitution.

"The traffickers forced the young girls to show themselves as virgins because most of their clients demanded young girls," another victim said adding, "after arrival and clearance from the airport the traffickers took her passport and forced her physically to do what she was told."

The "agents" use tools like informing the police and of telling their families against their sex slaves, said the paper. One of the rescued victims said that threats of violence kept the victims in line and in some cases these threats became reality. Many girls were forced to have abortions and were forced back to work within weeks, she said and maintained that beatings and forced abortions were common in the life of the sex slaves.

"Some of the rich people in these countries like sex with young girls," she revealed.

Ansar Burney urged Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to direct the concerned department to take stern action against those who were involved in trafficking of young girls for prostitution. "I urge the concerned governments, their leaders, the United Nations, UN Human Rights Commission and other international human rights groups to come forward and help the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International to save the world before it is too late," he added.