Sex workers rescue minor girl from entering flesh trade

SURAT: Sex workers in the centuries-old red light area in Muglisara have displayed exemplary courage by saving a 14-year-old girl from entering the flesh trade.
They not only saved the girl, but also united her with her parents a week ago. The girl wanted to enter flesh trade after running away from her house in Pandesara area. They rescued the girl soon after she was spotted in the area where sex workers gather at night in search of clients on the Ring Road.
“At around 11 pm, some sex workers spotted a burqua-clad woman.She was talking to some men, who approached her. Soon, the girls realised that she was searching for clients. They talked to her and were shocked to know that she was just 14,” said Anita Shinde, member of Sahyog Mahila Mandal (SMM), a voluntary organization working for welfare of sex workers.
The girl told the other sex workers that she has no home and wanted to earn money through prostitution. She was later taken to the house of one of the non-governmental organization members and provided food. For the next two days, they visited different places with the girl to locate her house, but she did not provide her exact address. In the beginning, she also gave a false name. The girl first went to the railway station and spent a night there.
“It was only when we threatened to give her to police that she gave her actual address. We took her to home and united her with the family. They were also worried since she went missing,” another volunteer said. The girl had frequent quarrels with her parents, which is why she fled from home.
Project coordinator of SMM Pankaj Chaudhary said, “The group of women did a yeomen work by saving the teenager from landing into the trade. Along with doing welfare work, they also contribute to the society’s cause.”