Two Andhra 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

Two Andhra girls rescued

Lucknow, Nov 6 (IANS) Two teenaged girls from Andhra Pradesh were rescued from three young Nepali men after they were arrested from Uttar Pradesh Saturday, police said.

The men, in their mid 20s, were caught from the Jhansi railway station following a joint operation of the district police and Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Police officer Satyendra Yadav said the two girls, aged 14 and 15, had been abducted four or five days ago from Hyderabad. Jhansi is about 300 km from Lucknow.

Police suspect the men are linked to a human trafficking racket. Source