Past a nightmare but future has dreams for her

LUCKNOW:

The ordeal that she underwent has left an indelible scar on Zohra’s psyche, making her a bold and strong girl. Sometimes memories of the gruesome past come back to haunt her, but her steely resolve for a brighter tomorrow instantly pushes them away.

Zohra (name changed),16, a native of Meerut, fell prey to her own maternal aunt (mausi), who was into the human trafficking business.

After Zohra’s mother died, her father had an illicit relationship with her aunt. Later, the father was murdered, the aunt took over the house and property and kept Zohra, sole heir of the family, captive.

“We lived on the first floor and my khala (aunt) was settled on the ground floor. I was not allowed to move out. But I knew that something wrong was going on in the house,” she said.

Zohra subsequently learnt about the flesh trade racket being run in the house.

Many innocent girls were trafficked from different locations and her aunt managed the network.

Zohra, in the absence of anyone else, gradually came close to the servant Akram, least realising that he was a close aide of the aunt and assisted her in the trade.

“I never knew that he would betray me. I was close to him and shared all my feelings with him. He too said that he loved me and made many promises. But I hate him now,” she says.

Zohra was not even aware she would be the next commodity for Akram that he was planning to sell off soon.

The clients were ready and the plan was finalised. But, luckily, Zohra managed to escape. “There was a tea stall owner near my house who helped me run away from home, “she said.

But leaving the house did not ensure her safety. She met other people who exploited her. Finally dame luck smiled on her and she was saved through the Childline in Meerut.

After her stint in a shelter home in Meerut, she was shifted to a shelter home in Lucknow in April. In these months, Zohra has learnt alphabets and numbers and can manage to read storybooks. She is also mastering the art of flower making and tailoring.

“The bad phase is over. But I will set my kin right. They have ruined the lives of many girls and are still doing it. I will study hard and make myself capable enough to set them right,” she says.

The dreams are big and Zohra is working hard to realise them. A few sentences and greetings in English that she has learnt by now fill her with confidence and she says, “The day I master spoken English, my life will change. The society will respect me and treat me like an educated person and not like a commodity that they have been doing till now.”

TRAFFICKING PART 2