Saleem Shah
saleemshah@sdpi.org
Trafficking in women and children is an international scourge and there are hundreds of networks of traffickers who are running and controlling this heinous business worldwide. “Globally, experts agree on estimates that in 2002, more than 700,000 women and children were victims of human trafficking networks worldwide.” The practice is, unfortunately, prevalent in South Asia as well.
Child trafficking exists in all the four provinces of Pakistan but its nature and scope is different in NWFP. Female child trafficking is very prevalent as compared to male child trafficking. Female trafficking, including that of girls under the age of 18, is carried out under the cover of Walvar, a primitive custom of 'selling' brides for a price, in some areas of the NWFP.
A few decades ago, this custom was confined only to some districts and tribal areas of NWFP, but presently it is gradually encroaching upon mainstream settled districts, particularly Mardan, Swabi, Charsada and Nowshera.
The most alarming dimension of this trend is that Walvar is gradually turning into a business in the districts of Malakand and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA). Moreover, the business is gradually turning into an acceptable custom in Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Charsada.
In January 2004, SDPI initiated its ILO funded Child Trafficking project, covering all of the four provinces of Pakistan, to gain a better understanding of the nature and magnitude of trafficking in children for different exploitative purposes, including the worst forms of child labor and sexual exploitation.
As Swat is the center of this business in NWFP, therefore, SDPI sent its pilot field research team to Swat. This article is based on the findings of that survey.
Extreme poverty is the leading cause of girl child trafficking. Other major causes include illiteracy, particularly in the lowest socioeconomic strata in the district, unemployment, lack of sex and health education in curriculum, large size of the average family within the illiterate population, lack of access as well as proper family planning and contraception, lack of welfare for the poor, an extremely weak and anarchic judicial system in Malakand Division or PATA areas, lack of access to print and electronic media, lack of advocacy and awareness campaigns by both the NGOs and the government against such practices and the disinterest of police and other government agencies to watch and punish traffickers.
It is very important to note that presently, Malakand Division and PATA Areas are governed under PATA Regulations, and there are hardly any laws concerning human rights and good governance that are applicable to these areas. For example, the Pakistan Penal Code, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2003, the Children Employment Act 1991, the Labor Act 1995, the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2001, the Daily Wages Act 1968, the Mining Act, the Factories Act and the Compulsory Primary Education Act are not extended to Malakand Division. Only a segment of the Family Laws is in place. In other words, criminals who are involved in the trafficking business find a congenial legal environment to operate from and in.
The most vulnerable families are those who are the poorest, occupying the lowest social rung. Usually referred to as kummee kameen (out castes), they are people without property, who cannot make two ends meet due to the scarcity of work as well as rampant inflation. Among them, the local Gujars, Kohistanis and Kalamis are the vulnerable groups. There are many among them who genuinely believe that their daughters will lead a prosperous life. One particular social group, that of local dancers concentrated in a village near Mingora are also vulnerable to trafficking. They are in hundreds and also live in poverty.
Female victims do not belong to a particular age group. There is no law or custom in PATA areas fixing a minimum age limit for marriage and its enforcement. Thus, girls aged 11 and above get married, and are sent to the remote districts of NWFP and Punjab. The main consideration here is not the age of the bride or the bridegroom, but the booty, which is distributed among different shareholders.
There are two types of gangs involved in the business i.e. locals who operate in the district of Swat and the ones who act as partners in Punjab. The Punjab gangs seldom cross provincial boundaries due to their ethnic background, linguistic constraints, and constraints of distance and costs of travel. Another limitation is that majority of the local gangs operate at village or city level with the assistance of other stakeholders who are helpful in legitimizing the business and providing religious and legal protection. Thus, Punjab gangs are totally dependent on local NWFP ones and have no other option but to operate indirectly through them.
Local gangs operate everywhere in Swat. Usually their targets are poor and vulnerable families. They also arrange marriages within NWFP, but majority of their clients are from Punjab. Taking advantage of their ethnic familiarity, knowledge of local customs and traditions, and local influence, it is very easy for them to operate within a specific locality. They forge partnerships with officials in courts, the police as well as mosque clerics.
There are many other stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in this business. They include imams of mosques or the nikkah khawans, lawyers, munshis or assistants of lawyers in courts, custodians of some mazaars (shrines), staff at local police stations and some influential people of the area.
Local gangs usually consist of 3-5 members, including men and women. Male members of the gang obtain information about unmarried and pretty girls from the streets, hujras, mosques and working places and the women then visit the houses in search of fair skinned and beautiful women.
The women gang members are well dressed and wear gold jewellery to look rich and impress the poor and needy families. They enter the house like guests to get drinking water or to use toilets and then keep visiting time and again. Their usual way of motivating, convincing and finally baiting the family are by telling stories about the wealth of the bridegroom's family, who could also be 'a helping hand to them' and that their daughter would live like a 'queen'.
The male members of the gang eventually sit with the male members of the family in the hujra or the mosque and finalize the deal. The nikkah or marriage is arranged through a friendly imam or nikkah khawan who also gets a share in the booty. The deal is given a legal cover by hiring the services of a lawyer, so that the girl's family cannot bring the girl back if she is mistreated.
There are no fixed rates under Walvar but in a majority of cases, the price ranges from Rs. 1,00,000 to 1,50,000. However, not all this money goes to the family of the girl. They distribute it according to the role and influence of the stakeholder. For instance, out of an average amount of Rs 1,00,000, the share of the local middleman is Rs. 30,000, the Punjabi middleman Rs. 20,000, imam masjid Rs. 2,000 to 10,000 and the lawyer Rs. 8 to 10,000. In this way, the family of the bride receives approx. Rs 30,000. In other words, the local middle man gets 30 percent, the middle man from Punjab 20 percent, the imam masjid 2 to 10 percent, the lawyer 8 to 10 percent and the family of the bride around 30 percent. The reason for the high share of the local middleman is that besides all his efforts and manipulations, he is also responsible for lavishing expenses on the family of the girl before the finalization of the deal.
1) This issue needs a thorough field research for months if not for years, focusing on all dimensions of girl trafficking including customs like Walvar.
2) Local and provincial gangs and other stakeholders involved directly or indirectly in trafficking need to be identified.
3) The existing legal system needs to be replaced with the laws in effect in the settled districts of NWFP.
4) Strict enforcement, rigorous imprisonment and fines should be imposed on all partners of this crime.
5) Marriages under the age of 18 years should be declared illegal.
6) There is a need to identify and interview the victims if possible. This will not only help in understanding the suffering they face, but also in getting first hand information about the routes, gangs, destinations, as well as the type of criminals involved.
7) Record and data of trafficking must be maintained at the district, provincial and national levels.
8) The government needs to launch a very comprehensive awareness campaign against Walvar through electronic and print media by organizing seminars, meetings, jirgas and distribution of literature at the local level.
9 ) Civil society organizations can play a pivotal role in organizing awareness campaigns and restricting the movement of the gangs.
10) However, the most important remedial measure is the eradication of poverty without which any policy or strategy would most likely fail.
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