In human trafficking hub, cops rely on students to be their eyes
In the first week of November, a Class 8 student of Koaberia Mohammedia High Madrasa in Kakdwip area of the Sunderbans region was told that her parents had finalised her marriage on November 13.
On that date, out of the blue, police landed at the wedding ceremony and arrested the marriage registrar. The girl appeared for her annual exams in December.
What happened between the girl learning about her marriage and the day of the wedding reads like fiction. Only a few days ago, the minor had participated in a day-long awareness camp in her school, where women police officers and NGO workers explained the evils of child marriage and its link to human trafficking — the twin evils that plague the district of South 24-Parganas.
As part of the initiative, a 22-member group was formed with male and female students from 11 neighbouring villages. Its task was to monitor if any children in their villages remained unseen for a few days. The would-be bride first informed some members of the group who brought it to the notice of the group’s teacher in charge Mahiuddin Sardar. He promptly informed the block development officer of the impending wedding.
District police has taken the initiative to check child marriage and trafficking.
Koaberia Mohammedia High Madrasa is among 200-odd schools spread across six blocks where the district police, in association with UNICEF, has created Swayangsiddha (self-reliant woman) groups to battle the evils of child marriage and trafficking.
“We feel thrilled and confident after preventing her marriage. She wanted to study. We are keeping our ears open,” said Anja Ara Khatun, a Class 9 student and The groups comprise 11-22 students from both genders Each group is guided by a teacher in charge, who coordinates with NGOs, police and block-level officers
member of the group. About 75% of the madrasa’s 850 students are girls. Each group has 11-22 members and is led by a teacher. The members meet every week, while once a month, they are joined by a teacher.
In many villages, the students have organised rallies to raise awareness about social evils.
“This is a large-scale community policing initiative and the first of its kind in India, where the Members gather information about planned child marriages and teenagers who remain unseen for a few days
Groups formed in about 200 schools
police sought direct involvement of students,” said Rishi Kant of Delhi-based NGO Shakti Vahini. The organisation played a vital role in the rescue of several women trafficked from Bengal.
“We have been asked to identify vulnerable families, school dropouts and children who never went to school,” said Chaitali Mondal, a Class 9 student of Chak Panchghora Sitanath High School at neighbouring Joynagar and a team member.
Standing outside the co-ed madrasa in Koaberia, local resident Imranul Haque, 45, said: “Girls need to be educated. Even Class 9 and 10 students elope with unknown boys. God knows where they end up.”
A visit to these areas illustrates how poverty and illiteracy allow trafficking to flourish. Koaberia, located along a tributary of Muriganga river and situated in the buffer zone of the Sunderbans, is dotted with agricultural fields that yield only during monsoon. Most of the population lives in mud huts. Teenage boys often travel to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh for work in zari and tailoring industries.
Villagers claimed at least four families had no contact with their daughters since their marriage.
“Early in 2016, we realised we needed to involve the schools and village panchayats to create listening posts on the ground. Since child marriage is often linked to trafficking, we decided to turn it into a combined campaign,” said Chandra Sekhar Bardhan, additional superintendent of police, Diamond Harbour. He played a key role in developing the concept and its implementation.
“If a minor is being trafficked or married off, it’s her or his friends who are supposed to get the hints first,” Bardhan added.
KAKDWIP(SUNDERBANS):