Rescued from Red Light district, woman returns as saviour

NEWDELHI : Seven years after she was rescued from Delhi’s red light zone GB Road, a 28-yearold woman from Andhra Pradesh visited the brothel again, but this time to save a minor.

The woman still has bruise marks all over her body, reminding her of the seven years of torture she faced here. But despite all the trauma she faced, she decided to visit the area again to rescue women trapped in sex trafficking.

“I was brought here sometime around 2004-05 when I was 14 years old. A relative brought me here for household work but sold me to a brothel. I was forced to serve as many customers as I could and was not paid anything,” the woman said.

In January 2011, a Delhi driver who went as a customer decided to rescue her on hearing her plight.

Eight months later, he rescued her and married her.

“My friends took me to a GB Road brothel. I selected her from a group of sex workers. She narrated her ordeal and I decided to rescue her. With the help of NGO Shakti Vahini and police, she was rescued in September, 2011,” said the man.

After the incident, the man decided to make it a mission and rescue girls who were forced to live at GB road.

“I have a group of friends who go there as customers and look for girls who want to come out. We take their details, contact their families and inform the police. We have rescued over 50 girls,” he said.

Many a time, his wife helped her over the phone by translating what other Andhra girls in the brothel were narrating. But this time, she decided to accompany her husband in the raid.

“I don’t want anyone else to suffer the way I have. I could not gather courage earlier but now I will assist my husband in the cause,” she said.

Many girls from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are forced into prostitution in Delhi.

“While police has an important role to play in curbing trafficking, couples like them need assistance from NGOS as well. In Delhi, apart from GB Road, there are several hideouts where trafficked girls are kept,” said KK Sharma, a Supreme Court advocate, who handles cases related to trafficking.

According to Subir Roy, an NGO worker who was with Shakti Vahini when this woman was rescued, there is a need to generate awareness and ensure minor girls are not pushed into trafficking.

Roy now conducts workshops to generate awareness on trafficking.