It’s 11.30 p.m. and the road stretch near the Nehru Zoological Park is dimly lit and relatively empty. A few minutes later, an autorickshaw stops on the road followed by a cab. Three women with their faces covered get out of the autorickshaw and get into the cab.
After driving down for half an hour, the cab stops in front of an apartment in Banjara Hills Road No.12, two women get down and briskly walk into the apartment. The cab then heads to an upscale hotel in Somajiguda where the third woman gets down.
What makes this journey different from the regular ones is that the women from the southern parts of the city are high-profile ‘female escorts’. “Whenever I get a call, I pick them up from the same place and drop them at different hotels and buildings in newer areas of the city. In the morning I ferry them back,” the cab driver, wishing to remain anonymous, said.
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While the Government talks about safety and protection of women in the city, the escort agencies are having a free run aided by technology and secrecy provided by modern gizmos. “Strict monitoring on brokers engaged in facilitating contract marriages has put it on hold. But now organised syndicates are luring teenagers, young widows and divorcees into prostitution. Travel arrangements are being made for the ‘escorts’ by the brokers themselves,” Jameela Nishath, of Shaheen Women’s Resource and Welfare Association, an NGO working for empowerment of Muslim women, said.
According to Ms. Nishath, around 5,000 women and girls from southern areas of the city are now victims of human trafficking. “Localities where there is high poverty are their target. Unless issues relating to poverty and women empowerment are addressed, the problem will only grow. To compound the issue, there are very few job opportunities and these people are falling for easy money,” she felt.
S. Q. Masood, a social activist from Kalapather area, explains, “Poor migrant families settled in newer areas are being targetted. While some of the victims are offered junior artist roles in films, others are directly pushed into prostitution. In the end, brokers are making huge money while the victims end up getting exploited.”
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On the other hand, the police said that they regularly catch brokers and brothel organisers.
“Till now we have raided around 20 brothels and arrested many brokers. The victims were also rescued,” Commissioner’s Task Force DCP B. Limba Reddy said.