House raided, 15 girls rescued ~ Bridal Slaves Rescue & Restore campaign

EMPOWER PEOPLE is an NGO in India working to protect female victims of violence and mitigate post-violence trauma. EMPOWER PEOPLE is one of the pioneer organizations focusing on the issue of human trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage.

What is also called "bride trafficking" affects a yet unknown number of girls, particularly from poor backgrounds, who are deceived and trafficked to be sold as brides. According to information gathered by EMPOWER PEOPLE, a middleman seeks an agreement on an arranged marriage with the family of the girls. Later those girls are transferred to another places where there is a high demand of brides, like Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan where they are known as "Paro" or "Molki" (literally perched woman).

The main focus of EMPOWER PEOPLE lies on awareness raising and sensitization trainings for law enforcement agencies. The organization is also offering direct victim support and assistance to women vulnerable to human trafficking and domestic violence.

EMPOWER PEOPLE is currently developing projects of community engagement and rehabilitation of trafficking victims in both source and destination areas in seven states of India.

Visit www.empowerpeople.org.in

House raided, 15 girls rescued

BANGALORE: The Jeevanbimanagar police on Saturday, raided a house, rescued 15 girls and arrested six men for allegedly detaining them. The accused identified as Manohar, Kumar, Mohammed, Baaba, Manjunath and Hariprasad were all employees of a bar under Ashokanagar police limits.

According to the police, the women were brought from Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Rajasthan on the pretext of providing them employment in event management companies or as receptionists at hotels and were later forced to work as bar girls. Police said these women were not paid proper salaries and were not given proper food.