Sometime in October 1990, an Air hostess on a flight from Hyderabad to New Delhi saw a little girl, sitting next to an elderly, bearded Arab weeping inconsolably. Upon being asked why by the Air hostess and the fellow travellers, Ameena, the teary eyed, 10 year old said that she was married off to the elderly Arab who was now taking her to Saudi Arabia and that she did not want to go with him. The Arab was subsequently arrested and it was found that Ameena’s parents had sold her off to the Arab for some $240. This was 16 years ago and it took Ameena’s plight to shake India’s conscience.
Hyderabad had been notorious as a Bazaar for child brides for wealthy Arabs for some time but it was Ameena that brought the thriving, illegal and obnoxious industry into the limelight.
Under the Nizam’s rule, Hyderabad had a history of hiring Arabs as soldiers who took child brides locally in return for money. The tradition of paying money for child brides is believed to have originated from that time. With oil wealth, prosperity came to the Arabian desert and an elaborate network of touts and conniving qazis was developed to satiate the demand of child brides for their Arab clients. The network would target young girls from impoverished families, offering them money and dreams of a lifestyle which they could not even imagine. The industry continued to thrive with Hyderabad as its hub.
http://www.nytimes.com/…/new-delhi-journal-tearful-bride-ju…
With changing times, community attitudes and better control mechanisms, it was believed that this industry’s back had been broken. It now appears that far from it, the network continues to thrive, hidden from public’s gaze, exploiting poor families and catering to the despicable needs of its clients. The modus operandi that is being followed is thus.
Foreigners, typically Arabs get in touch with local pimps, who scour Hyderabad’s bylanes and shanties to line up prospective brides for their client. The girls’ families are made offers of money, a lavish lifestyle and a luxurious life for their girl. Once the client lands in Hyderabad, the pimps arrange for meetings between the client and prospective brides. Once the wife is chosen, agreements on money and other terms are made. A compliant Qazi is brought to solemnise the wedding and the Nikah is carried out. The husband and wife subsequently relocate to the husband’s country. Travel arrangements, documents etc. are arranged by the pimp.
This is what happened with a 15 year old girl from Hyderabad recently. She was identified as a potential bride while she was staying at her Aunt’s place. A 77 year old Omani Arab chose her as her wife. Under pressure from her Aunt and her family and hypnotized by dreams of breaking out of her impoverished existence, the girl assented to the marriage and was married off to the Omani. Once in Oman, the girl’s life became hell. She was being tortured by her husband and his family. The husband refused to let go of the girl, till the money he had paid to the bride’s family was refunded to her. At this stage, the Union government has gotten involved in trying to reunite the girl with her family. ‘Arab Nikah’ as the process is informally called, is far more pervasive than was being suspected earlier.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hydeabad/marriage-most-foul/article19646124.ece
There are girls who have been through much worse. They’re married, rather sold off to Arabs for money, who subsequently divorce them. They’re then sold off by their parents to another groom, again for a pretty sum of money, and subsequently divorced. The wretched exploitation continues as the girls are degraded, physically and emotionally, while their once poor parents make merry with all the money. The role of local Qazis in the entire case is also suspect. Instead of ensuring adherence to law, both constitutional and Quranic, many choose to look at monetary gains that would accrue to them with such Nikahs. In some cases, a portion of the sum promised to the bride is given to the Qazi for having solemnised the wedding. In fact, the Chief Qazi of Mumbai is accused of aiding and abetting large scale trafficking of girls. The police is now actively involved in unearthing the network and putting the guilty behind the bars but as always, they are hamstrung by political support enjoyed by the agents, touts and other members of the trafficking network.
Sources:
- http://www.thenewsminute.com/…/dirty-old-men-aged-arab-shei…
- http://www.thenewsminute.com/…/deception-lies-and-trafficki…
- http://www.firstpost.com/…/how-brave-nusrat-survived-indias…
Asaduddin Owaisi, who has shed copious tears at the plight of Rohingya Muslims and whose political power stems from Hyderabad has been conspicuously quiet on this issue. In fact, Not many political leaders in Telangana or other parts of the country for that matter have chosen to express their horror on this issue. Lack of political will combined with pandering to vote bank issues means that hundreds of minor girls will continue to be trafficked to satisfy the wicked sexual urges of Arabs and other foreigners.
For a nation that worships women as Goddesses, there can be nothing more insulting than having its own young girls being sold off as commodities to detestable foreigners. Stronger political will and coordinated police action alone can come to the rescue of thousands of young girls who never know when they might be shipped off by their parents to an ageing foreigner.