It happened over two decades ago, but the memories are still fresh in 26-year-old Shabhnam’s mind. As a young girl of six, when her peers were going to school and learning to spell, Shabhnam was sold to a brothel owner by her own father to make ends meet. When she found herself in the dark alleys of Kolkata’s infamous red-light area (Sonagachi) trying to gauge what she had been tricked into, her world came crashing down. Two years later, Shabhnam was fortunate enough to escape but not everyone is as lucky as she was and she knows that. Shabhnam is now willing to fight back, by learning to become a lawyer through School for Justice — an initiative that will train rescued child prostitution survivors to become justice felicitators.
Started by the NGO Free a Girl, School for Justice was launched this month, seeking to approach with renewed vigour the pending court cases against traffickers. Francis Gracias, the CEO, is the driving force behind the initiative. After dedicating his life to activism following a corporate career, Francis felt the need to have a strong judicial system, which looks at child trafficking as a serious offence. He says, “We want to attack the culture that allows the criminals behind child prostitution to walk scot-free. After years of on-ground analysis, studies and rescue operations, we noticed that the reason why there is growing crime against minors is the lax judicial process. Though legal aid is available, the conviction rates are petty. Only 10 to 14 per cent cases get registered but few go to the court,” Francis reveals.
He has been trying to mobilise rescued girls from across India to be a part of the initiative for a year now. His efforts finally bear fruit as he starts with a batch of 19 girls from West Bengal who are now being trained by professionals to appear for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) – an examination which grants admission in law courses offered by 18 National Law Universities of India. “We are tapping on areas where the girls are rehabilitated and asking them if they’d be willing to join; we will then connect them with the mainstream law universities in their region,” says Francis. He now plans to get various NGOs rehabilitating rescued girls on board for the initiative.
For these girls who are finally on board, studying laws and rules that would bring their violators to justice offered a new lease of life. As a girl of 13, Asha found herself in Kamathipura, far from her hometown in Nagpur where she was trying to escape from her abusive stepmother, “I was sold there by a woman who said she would take me home. Once I reached there, I saw many girls my age. When we refused to comply with her demands, we were beaten with canes and not given food for weeks. Cops rescued me in a raid, but many minor girls still deal with the barbarous side of human nature and are forced to sell their flesh,” she shares.
The girls here want to study for single-mindedly chasing one common goal — bringing to task their perpetrators. “I was married off at the age of 15. My husband and his friends physically and mentally abused me. It wasn’t long before I was forced into prostitution. After being rescued, I did lodge a complaint and attended repeated trials at the court but he still walks free,” says 20-year-old Kalyani. “Once I know the law and how it works, I’ll be ready to fight my own case and for all those women who face abuse,” she says.
The girls have a simple routine that involves burying themselves in thick books. “Many of us have studied in regional languages, so we are finding it difficult to understand English. But all of us are very motivated. We study in groups and are now aware that we can put our violators behind bars under section 370 of the IPC,” says Shabhnam.
